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Jack Sheridan
Laneway PicturesJack Sheridan graduated with Honours (First Class) in Screen Studies, after studying Theatre and Film in Australia and the USA. Following two darkly cinematic short dramas (SCHISM, SOLIPSIS), Jack established his reputation with genre bending psychological thriller DAY DREAMS, for which he was awarded the SAFC's $50 000 Filmmaker of the Future Award.
Since then Jack has directed many dramatic and commissioned works and won a number of awards for his films, which have screened internationally. His next ambitious short drama YURI SHIMA drew on his mixed Asian heritage in a magical realist re-imagining of an ancient Japanese fairy tale. The film's unique combination of romance and surreal VFX led to directing work at several major production companies around Australia.
Jack's most recent short INJURY TIME stars Australian icon David Field. The high concept narrative is told in real-time in one continuous shot. The short represents his growing fascination with high-concept stories mixing the thriller and drama genres.
Jack is currently developing a slate of feature projects, including a full-length version of the thriller INJURY TIME.
Laneway Pictures was formed to cater to the unique demand in Adelaide for a boutique production company that provides clients with high production values on a budget.
Jack works with professional personnel according to the demands and budget of each production.
Karena Slaninka
CEO of Mercury CXMercury CX CEO Karena Slaninka has an extensive background working in Australia and the UK in television, documentary and screen industry development, including almost a decade as head of Screen Tasmania.
As a creative producer, script developer and senior executive, Karena is known as a creative and transformative force, with distinctive vision and strong leadership skills. She blends business and producing skills with strong creative flair, having produced or worked on hundreds of hours of television. As an industry executive she has facilitated approximately $300 million worth of production on feature films and TV series.
Nationally, she has extensive experience in revitalising key industry organisations including the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) where as Chair of the Board and Acting CEO, she rebuilt the flagging organisation and reimagined it as the commercially robust and internationally renowned organisation it is today.
Her passion for creative development of authentic and diverse stories has been a common thread through her roles since her time as a Senior Development and Production Executive at Screen NSW and as a creator and producer.
In her position as the Head of Screen Tasmania she effectively kick-started the sector in the state, driving industry development and facilitating finance for the production of local shows such as the ABC’s Rosehaven and the multi-award winning The Kettering Incident, whilst attracting Hollywood productions including Dreamworks’ Light Between Oceans, and The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe.