by FilmInk Staff
Screen Territory’s premier networking and industry development event will transform Darwin into a major meeting place for Australia’s screen industry, September 18–20, with the 2026 NT Screen and Cinematic Craft Summit.
Presented by Screen Territory in partnership with Charles Darwin University, the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), the free-of-charge NT Screen and Cinematic Craft Summit puts craft, creativity and the future of screen storytelling at the centre of the program.
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Marie-Clare Boothby, said the annual NT Screen and Cinematic Craft Summit, staged in Darwin, showcased the Territory’s talent and unique stories.
“The NT Screen and Cinematic Craft Summit is all about growing the Territory’s screen industry, which is making waves on screens all over the world, while building our appeal as a must-visit destination.”
“The Event offers a suite of opportunities for Territorians to connect with industry leaders, hone their skills, and to help shape the future of Australia’s screen industry – and the Territory’s growing role in that space.”
Screen Territory Senior Director Jennie Hughes said the weekend demonstrated the breadth of opportunity being created for the Territory’s rapidly growing and highly regarded screen industry.
“This is a fantastic weekend for the screen industry in the Northern Territory,” Ms Hughes said. “We’re bringing some of Australia’s leading screen practitioners and decision-makers to Darwin, while shining a spotlight on the next generation of Territory storytellers through our SPARK initiative.
“This year’s focus on craft, with masterclasses in fiction, factual, high-end commercial, and aerial cinematography was curated especially for the NT lens, as we live and work in the most cinematographically spectacular place on earth!” Ms Hughes said.
The Summit ‘sparks’ off on Friday 18 September with the red-carpet world premiere of four new Territory screen stories created through the 2026 SPARK Short Film Initiative, presented in VMAX, Event Cinemas Palmerston, in partnership with the Darwin International Film Festival.
Across Saturday and Sunday, the action-packed Summit sessions will explore the breadth of Australia’s screen industry, from cinematography, directing and production design through to factual storytelling, commercial production and the business of making Australian screen content.
Saturday afternoon also features an exclusive 40th anniversary screening of Crocodile Dundee: The Encore Cut, remastered in 4K, followed by a special Q&A with Australian screen icon Delvene Delaney.
NT cinematographic excellence will be celebrated at the Australian Cinematographers Society NT Chapter Awards on Saturday evening, and the Summit forms part of an especially significant weekend for screen in Darwin, coinciding with the closing weekend of the Darwin International Film Festival.
The 2026 NT Screen and Cinematic Craft Summit, 18–20 September 2026 is FREE to attend (excl ASC Awards), however registration is required and places are limited.
For Summit information, program details and registration, visit the NT Screen Summit page on the Screen Territory website at NT Screen Summit | Screen Territory
2026 NT SCREEN AND CINEMATIC CRAFT SUMMIT
Register for your free ticket at https://screenterritory.nt.gov.au/summit
SPEAKERS & PANELISTS
Summit sessions across Saturday & Sunday feature speakers and practitioners including Head of Scripted Streaming & Broadcast, Stan, 9Network and 9Now, Andy Ryan, SBS Head of Television Kathryn Fink, ABC Commissioning Editor Scripted Brett Sleigh, BAFTA-winning and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter John Collee (Monkey Man, Boy Swallows Universe, Master and Commander), LA-based producer and head of Chris Hemsworth’s production company Wildstate John Graham, ACS President Brent Crockett ACS, Screen Australia Head of Development Tanya Phegan, Acclaimed Australian directors Dylan River, Erica Glynn, Jeremy Sims, Victoria Baldock and Gemma Lee, Producer and actress Delvene Delaney (Crocodile Dundee II, The Paul Hogan Show), Showrunner Greg Haddrick (Human Error, Janet King, Underbelly), screenwriter Sam Miekle (The Twelve, Last King of the Cross, MaveriX), Cinematographers Anna Howard ACS, Andy Taylor ACS, Casimir Dickson ACS, Production designers Helen O’Loan, Matthew Putland and Michael Leon, Industry technical leaders including KOJO’s Lauren Van Rensburg and Jade Robinson and Panavision’s Nic Godoy, alongside many more.
SUMMIT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
Curated to offer broad and targeted professional insight for Territory practitioners, include
- ACS Address: The State of Cinematography in Australia
- Crocodile Dundee at 40: The Film That Changed Australian Cinema and Tourism
- The Director & Cinematographer: A Creative Partnership
- The Art of Aesthetic: High-End Commercials That Captivate
- Australian Stories at Primetime
- Production Design: Building Worlds for the Screen
- Masterclass: Beyond Coverage – Designing Cinematography for Factual
- The Sky Is the Limit: Expanding the Language of the Aerial Image
- Spin Me A Yarn: Storytelling with Screenwriters
SPARK SHORT FILM WORLD PREMIERE – Friday 18 September, 6.30 at VMAX Event Cinemas Palmerston
Register for your free ticket at www.SPARKFILMS2026.eventbrite.com.au
This year’s SPARK filmmakers were challenged to respond to the theme “In A Pickle”, with each of the four selected projects receiving $30,000 in production finance from Screen Territory, alongside bespoke support from leading screen businesses including Panavision Australia, KOJO and Trackdown. The initiative is further supported by Executive Producer Rachel Clements of Brindle Films (Kangaroo, MaveriX), Development Mentor Greg Haddrick of Broadstory, and through expert mentorship from faculty at the AFTRS.
- Director, writer, producer Bridget May’s LATCH stars Pedrea Jackson as a hit man out of his depth in the outback with body in the boot and his sleeve caught in the latch when along comes a park ranger, played by Trisha Morton-Thomas, who stops to help. The slow-burn dark comedy has cinematography by Dylan River.
- Director, writer, producer Laurens Goud’s WITH YOU stars NT newcomer Claudia Wyles alongside Georgina Haig and Josh Mapleston, as a teenage girl, unseen by her overwhelmed parents in the moment she most needs them. Coming apart on a remote Northern Territory road she must find her own way back, alone, from deep in the bush. Co-written and produced by Phil Tarl Denson with cinematography by Jayden Moyle.
- Director, writer, producer Ethan Grahek’s HARDCASE stars and Amelia Aberasturi as a young ex-scientist fleeing her own invention jumps who into a taxi with a very reluctant, sharp-witted indigenous driver, Kamahi King, hiding a deadly secret. Produced by Grahek with Bridget May and Connor Manzie with cinematography by Tor Burns.
- Director, writer, producer Penelope McDonald’s THE LONG DROP stars Madeleine Madden and Emily Taheny in a grounded comedy about dignity, friendship, the strange situations life drops us into and the unexpected insight that can emerge when we find ourselves stuck at rock bottom. Produced by Samantha Alexis Laughton with cinematography by Dylan River.
CROCODILE DUNDEE 40 YEARS ON – Saturday 19 September, 2pm at Event Cinemas Casuarina
Register for your free ticket at https://crocdundee.eventbrite.com.au/
With the 40th anniversary of Crocodile Dundee in 2026, as part of the activities, the weekend will also feature a special free screening of Crocodile Dundee: The Encore Cut, remastered in 4K, followed by a special Q&A with Australian screen icon Delvene Delaney, occurring at 2pm on Saturday 19 September in Casuarina Cinemas.
The screening provides an opportunity to reflect on the film’s extraordinary impact on Australian cinema, and both the Q&A and Summit session will explore the films legacy and enduring influence on Australian storytelling.
ACS AWARDS – Saturday 19 September, from 5.30pm at Deckchair Cinema
Tickets available to purchase at www.diff.net.au
A gathering of the Northern Territory’s finest cinematographers, recognising their skills and accomplishments at this prestigious event as part of the Australian Cinematographers Society National Awards Program. Dinner, sunset and a show of the talents of the NT cinematographers.
IMAGE: Trisha Morton-Thomas and Pedrea Jackson in Bridget May’s LATCH, world premiering in the SPARK Short Film Showcase.
