by FilmInk Staff
In August, Minderoo Pictures is supporting a visit to Australia by six U.S. screen entertainment specialists to support Australian creatives with the interest or ambition to support climate storytelling on screens.
They include: Producer Mari-Jo Winkler (True Detective: Night Country), Showrunner Karissa Valencia (Spirit Rangers), Writer Ali Weinstein (Law & Order: For The Defense), NBC Universal’s Kimberly Burnick and Heather Fipps and Allison Begalman from the Hollywood Climate Summit.
The U.S. guests will participate in four major screen festivals and events across Australia in August and September.
Winkler, Valencia and Burnick will be the headline speakers for Culture Shapers, a one-day summit in Sydney on August 28 presented by Groundswell in partnership with the Hollywood Climate Summit that brings together global and local industry leaders in climate-aware storytelling and filmmaking.
Valencia will also feature at the Australian Children’s Content Summit in Coffs Harbour from August 25 – 27, where Minderoo Pictures joins for the first time as a major partner.
Valencia, Fipps and Begalman will then travel to Western Australia, featuring in CinefestOZ and the WIFT Australia x CinefestOZ Writers Retreat.
“The work of these creative powerhouses demonstrates that climate doesn’t have to be a content category all on its down. Integrated across genres, it can powerfully serve to drive narrative, intersecting with drama, creating conflict and opportunity for characters, and ultimately help audiences navigate their own reality, If we’re not engaging, we’re in denial about the present,” says Minderoo Pictures Executive Director Malinda Wink.
This builds on Minderoo Pictures’ commitment to support talented Australian storytellers to build and develop their craft.
In May this year Minderoo Pictures partnered with Hollywood Climate Summit to bring Lynn Renee Maxcy (The Handmaid’s Tale) to Australia to deliver a Climate Story workshop and participate in a panel at Screen Forever, the Screen Producers Australia conference.
Minderoo Pictures’ focus on screen projects highlighting urgent global social and environmental issues is also reflected across their diverse and growing global slate, including Ocean with David Attenborough, and Australian screen projects including feature documentaries Unbreakable: Jelena Dokic, Left Write Hook, Songs Inside, narrative features Magic Beach, Blueback, and the short films Unanswered Calls and White Rock, which draws attention to threats and conservation of the Great Southern Reef.
Mari-Jo Winkler is an Emmy-nominated producer behind HBO’s acclaimed True Detective: Night Country and has credits on Y:The Last Man, Stillwater, The Goldfinch, The Dictator, Premium Rush, Fair Game, Away We Go and Dan InReal Life. Off screen, she’s a leader in sustainable filmmaking, pushing for greener sets and climate- conscious storytelling as Co-Chair of the Producers Guild’s Sustainable Task Force and the Directors Guilds.
Karissa Valencia is a Peabody and Emmy-nominated showrunner, writer and author. She created and executive produces Netflix’s Spirit Rangers, a preschool series celebrating Native American storytelling, nature, and community. Karissa has been recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s Kids Entertainment Power List, Variety’s 10Animators to Watch, and Animation Magazine’s Rising Stars. She previously wrote for Disney Junior’s DocMcStuffins, Vampirina, and The Chicken Squad. A proud Chicana and member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Karissa draws from her heritage to create stories about identity and belonging.
Kimberly Burnick is the Sr. Director of Sustainable Content & Partnerships at NBCUniversal, leading the GreenerLight Program which supports sustainability initiatives across the filmmaking process, including titles such as The Wild Robot and Jurassic World Rebirth. After starting her career in production, she moved into sustainability in 2016 and partners with creatives, talent and environmental experts to bring environmental solutions to life both on and off screen.
Ali Weinstein is a queer TV writer, climate activist, and climate storytelling consultant, who is currently writing for a new video game entitled Wildcard. She just wrapped as
the Showrunner’s Assistant on Orphan Black: Echoes and was previously the Writer’s Assistant on NBC’s Law & Order: For The Defense and Netflix’s Glamourous. She is a Co- Founder, Executive Producer, and the Director of Programming for the annual Hollywood Climate Summit, which will have its 4th conference this summer, from June 21st-24th, 2025.
Heather Fipps mobilizes the entertainment industry for climate action as Executive Director of the Hollywood Climate Summit, where she leads a global community that has engaged over 30,000 creative professionals across film, television, gaming, and media to take climate action in their work. Through prestigious partnerships with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Netflix, NBCUniversal, and CAA, she catalyzes industry-wide narrative movements for climate action. As Program Director at The Redford Center, Fipps led the strategy for the organization’s $22 million grantmaking programs in support of environmental films and provided crucial support for over 50 documentaries that have reached millions, changed policy, and mobilized communities. Her insights on media’s role in climate response have been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, LA Times, New York Times, Forbes, and Rolling Stone.
Allison Begalman is a writer, entrepreneur and innovator of social justice communications, with an expertise at the intersection of media and climate. She has built multiple organizations, including YEA! Impact, Young Entertainment Activists, and the Hollywood Climate Summit. At Hollywood Climate Summit, she leads on stakeholder engagement, strategic partnerships, programming, and marketing and communications.
