As the Head of Creative Industry Partnerships at Screen Queensland, Rowena is responsible for the grant assessment and partnership management of over 30 film festivals, screenings, conferences and other industry-related events, across metropolitan and regional Queensland.

She has sat on judging, jury and advisory panels of multiple film festivals, including Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Forum, Brisbane International Film Festival, Gold Coast Film Festival, West End Film Festival, Australian Teachers of Media and the Noosa International Film Festival.

Rowena also administrates Screen Queensland development and production initiatives, such as
short film initiatives SCREAM Queensland and RIDE Shorts and the Stowe Story Labs
Screenwriting Fellowship.

In particular, a key aspect to Rowena’s remit is to oversee the delivery of the Far North
Queensland Screen Production Strategic Plan and North Queensland Regional Program. This
involves liaising with key stakeholders to roll-out production initiatives, workshops and events to
engage and empower the local screen community and boost overall production capacity in the
regions.

Jaden Bowen, based in Meanjin/Brisbane, is a passionate producer dedicated to the art of storytelling. With a diverse background in the screen industry, his true calling lies in creating factual content. Notable projects in his portfolio include works for Quest Red, The Queensland Disability Network, and various original productions.

As the co-founder, producer, and director of Simply Stories Docs, a Brisbane-based online content-centered factual production company, Jaden excels in crafting original snapshots that highlight individuals from diverse backgrounds. His company secured funding from Screen Australia to develop a limited series based on their unique format.

Jaden takes great pride in his accomplishments, driven by the unwavering belief that no mountain is too high, no river too wide, and no problem insurmountable.

Company Bio:
Simply Stories Docs is a Meanjin/Brisbane-based production company, specialising in the creation and distribution of factual content in the online space. Founded by documentarians Jake Holroyd and Jaden Bowen, Simply Stories Docs started as a simple social media presence, with their first 52 Snapshots garnering over 100,000 views in 2020.

Simply Stories established itself as a company in 2023, and released the Screen Australia funded series Game Changers. Simply Stories' vision is to become one of the leading online presence for factual content in Australia and is developing more projects to help itself get there.

Born and raised in the Torres Strait, Dennis grew up spending as much time in the water as on land. Fishing has always been integral to Torres Strait culture, but as an adult, he has a newfound respect for spearfishing. “It’s by far the most sustainable way to fish,” he reminds us. It also happens to be the most fun.

It’s this balance of adventure and preserving the natural world that became the defining principles of Salty Monkeys. And though he’s lived a full life across the world—whether it was professionally competing in sports in Asia, volunteering for an anti-poaching foundation in Africa, donating fish to local charities, leading soldiers in the military, or working as firefighter—community has always been at the center of each endeavor.

Jesse McCart is the Program Manager for Online Content at Screen Queensland. In this new role Jesse has been creating initiatives for online creators across the state, collaborating with platforms such as YouTube to support emerging voices. Joining Screen Queensland in 2023 Jesse came from Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival where he was program manager, tutoring Asia Pacific Film at Griffith Film School and assisting at the QAGOMA Cinematheque and Brisbane International Film Festival. He is passionate about supporting emerging and developing filmmakers in Queensland.

Phoebe Willems is an Investment and Development Manager in Screen Australia’s Online and Games team, assessing production and development funding applications for short form projects. In the past, Phoebe has worked as a script report writer and was a co-writer on Season 3 of the online queer series Flunk. Phoebe has a Masters of Film and Television from the Victorian College of the Arts and in a past life was a gymnastics coach.