At Above The Line Accounting, we’ve always believed that the strength of Australia’s screen industry lies in its community. It’s a community built on creativity, resilience, and diversity, and one with a proud history of supporting each other.
Australia’s film industry doesn’t just depend on the projects being made this year. It depends on ensuring that the next generation of filmmakers have a chance to tell their stories, too, with all of their richness, complexity and nuance.
That’s why we’re proud to partner with Screen Producers Australia for their Ones To Watch program: a national mentoring initiative designed to equip early-career producers with the skills, networks, and confidence to build sustainable screen careers.
Here’s why we’ve chosen to back this program and the next generation of Australian producers.
Early career support shapes long-term success
The first few projects in a producer’s career can be make-or-break. Access to the right support, from mentoring to financial guidance, can be the difference between a promising idea becoming a finished project, or disappearing before the script is finalised.
When emerging producers succeed, they don’t just get one film made: they gain the skills and experience to build a career and keep telling stories for a lifetime.
Financial skills are as important as creative ones
We all love a great story. But a story doesn’t get made without a budget, cost reports, payroll, cashflow plans and detailed finance structures. And funding bodies won’t touch a project unless the financials are in order, making it even more critical.
Many talented new producers know how to pitch, develop and assemble a team, but not how to navigate the financial systems that keep a production alive.
Backing Ones To Watch means helping bridge that gap before it becomes an expensive lesson. This year, Above The Line Accounting’s Matthew Carter hosted a webinar for the cohort, sharing the critical financial foundations new producers need to build sustainable careers. It was just one of the practical sessions designed to strengthen their skills.
Emerging producers take the biggest risks with the least resources
New producers are often working without a financial buffer, established contacts, or a track record to unlock funding. That means they’re absorbing risk that more established companies can spread across multiple productions.
Supporting early-career producers is a way of shifting the odds, so the industry doesn’t lose great talent simply because the financial side felt too hard to manage alone.
New voices are critical to help our film industry create new trends and breakout hits by stepping outside the box with our storytelling.
A stronger industry needs new and diverse voices
Australia’s screen sector thrives when it reflects the full breadth of the communities it serves. Programs like Ones To Watch don’t just develop skills: they widen the pipeline, bringing in producers from regional areas, First Nations communities, culturally diverse backgrounds, and creative pathways outside the traditional film school route.
Diverse producers bring diverse stories, which creates a stronger and more relevant screen industry. And we’re proud to support that.
The investment pays off in five to ten years
Today’s emerging producer is tomorrow’s showrunner, feature film lead, or production company principal.
By supporting the early stages of their career now, we’re investing in the sustainability of the sector we work in every day. And in the future collaborators we’ll work alongside.
As Above The Line Accounting’s Managing Partner Matthew Carter puts it:
“If we want great Australian stories on screen five, ten, fifteen years from now, we need to make sure the people who will produce them don’t burn out on their first project. Practical support early on creates lasting careers, and that’s good for the whole industry.”
Why this matters to us
We’ve built Above The Line Accounting on one simple belief: we look after the numbers so you can focus on getting your stories told.
But we also know that being a filmmaker is a complex job. The numbers are just one part of it. Building networks, understanding production systems, and having access to experienced mentors all help create sustainable careers. That’s why we support this program.
We’re proud to stand behind the 2025 Ones To Watch cohort, and we can’t wait to see what they create next.
Want to learn more about the Ones To Watch program? Visit the Screen Producers Australia website to find out about th
is year’s cohort and how to get involved.