Is Sydney the next Hollywood?

Learn how Sydney is transforming into a global hub for animation and film production.

Flying Bark Productions has been creating independent family-focused animation for over 50 years. Join their CEO Barbara Stephen to learn how our city is developing into a creative, vibrant and robust animation industry. Today, we produce in Sydney big budget television programming for international giants such as Disney, Netflix and Paramount.

Hear about Barbara’s incredible journey and learn how her forward-thinking leadership and strong business acumen, along with government subsidies and international market expansion schemes, have put Sydney on the global stage of animation.

Bio

Barbara Stephen is the Managing Director and CEO of Flying Bark Productions, Australia’s largest independent kids and family-based production company. Flying Bark is known for making award-winning independent and feature films, as well as producing animation for Disney, LEGO, Marvel and Nickelodeon.

Barbara grew Flying Bark from a small, locally-focused company to a highly regarded international animation house. Today, it employs more than 350 people in its Sydney and Los Angeles studios.

Also speaking at the Ace Hotel Sydney at 6:00PM is Dr Sanné Mestrom

About the venue - Ace Hotel Sydney

A place of extraordinary contrasts and community, Ace Hotel's home of Surry Hills is a microcosm of Sydney’s singular character; its meandering streets establishing a rhythm of creation and innovation that rings across the city, the country and the rest of the world.

Ace Hotel Sydney welcomes the electricity of the city inside, cultivating a call and response with the community around the venue and a two-way channel for creativity, collaboration and culture. Ace Hotel is walking distance to Hyde Park and the CBD, Darlinghurst and Redfern, and just a moment away from Central Station, which can take you just about anywhere you’d want to go.