EPISODE · Feb 23, 2026 · 30 MIN
045: February 2026 News Round-Up: Matchbox Closure, AACTA Festival Wrap-Up & More...
from We Interrupt This Broadcast · host We Interrupt This Broadcast
It’s been a huge start to the year for the Australian screen industry, with lots to cover in this episode!Kirsty Stark and Aven Yap discuss their time at AACTA Festival, including all of the big winners from the AACTA Awards. We talk about Universal Studios International’s decision to close Matchbox Pictures, and what it means for our local industry.Plus: all of your February screen industry news, opportunities and opinions from around the country...Subscribe and get every episode of We Interrupt This Broadcast in your inbox.Subscribe now00:00 Happy Lunar New Year!00:42 AACTA Award Winners, AACTA Festival Highlights, and what we heard on the ground08:38 Matchbox Pictures closes13:01 SPA Seeks ACCC Authorisation for Collective Bargaining 14:47 Streaming Quotas in place & the ABC’s plans for its additional funding16:25 Screen Australia’s New Market & Audience Programs18:10 Minimum License Fees for TV Production Increase18:26 Brad Pitt Fights Tom Cruise & Darren Aronofsky Dabbles in AI20:54 SXSW Sydney Ends & Tropfest is Resurrected23:38 Industry Opportunities24:40 What We’re Watching: Iron Lung + Aussie Festival News & Selections27:37 What’s in production around Australia28:33 One year of We Interrupt This Broadcast, and thank you AFTRS!30:15 Acknowledgement of CountryIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple or give us 5 stars on Spotify to help us spread the word.This episode of We Interrupt This Broadcast was hosted by Kirsty Stark and Aven Yap, and edited by Kirsty Stark.Thank you to AFTRS, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, for sponsoring this episode. Applications for the 2026 mid-year intake of the AFTRS Master of Arts Screen Business, their postgraduate course on screen business and creative leadership, are now open until June 2.Head to aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business-mid-year for more information about , or listen to past student Fiona Kelly talk about her AFTRS experience in last week’s episode, Ep. 44.Join the conversation about Episode 45 on Instagram and LinkedIn, or submit your own Big Idea to shape the industry at http://weinterruptthisbroadcast.com.au.Have industry news, upcoming events or productions to share? Want to sponsor the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]
What this episode covers
It’s been a huge start to the year for the Australian screen industry, with lots to cover in this episode!Kirsty Stark and Aven Yap discuss their time at AACTA Festival, including all of the big winners from the AACTA Awards. We talk about Universal Studios International’s decision to close Matchbox Pictures, and what it means for our local industry.Plus: all of your February screen industry news, opportunities and opinions from around the country...Subscribe and get every episode of We Interrupt This Broadcast in your inbox.Subscribe now00:00 Happy Lunar New Year!00:42 AACTA Award Winners, AACTA Festival Highlights, and what we heard on the ground08:38 Matchbox Pictures closes13:01 SPA Seeks ACCC Authorisation for Collective Bargaining 14:47 Streaming Quotas in place & the ABC’s plans for its additional funding16:25 Screen Australia’s New Market & Audience Programs18:10 Minimum License Fees for TV Production Increase18:26 Brad Pitt Fights Tom Cruise & Darren Aronofsky Dabbles in AI20:54 SXSW Sydney Ends & Tropfest is Resurrected23:38 Industry Opportunities24:40 What We’re Watching: Iron Lung + Aussie Festival News & Selections27:37 What’s in production around Australia28:33 One year of We Interrupt This Broadcast, and thank you AFTRS!30:15 Acknowledgement of CountryIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple or give us 5 stars on Spotify to help us spread the word.This episode of We Interrupt This Broadcast was hosted by Kirsty Stark and Aven Yap, and edited by Kirsty Stark.Thank you to AFTRS, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, for sponsoring this episode. Applications for the 2026 mid-year intake of the AFTRS Master of Arts Screen Business, their postgraduate course on screen business and creative leadership, are now open until June 2.Head to aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business-mid-year for more information about , or listen to past student Fiona Kelly talk about her AFTRS experience in last week’s episode, Ep. 44.Join the conversation about Episode 45 on Instagram and LinkedIn, or submit your own Big Idea to shape the industry at http://weinterruptthisbroadcast.com.au.Have industry news, upcoming events or productions to share? Want to sponsor the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]
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045: February 2026 News Round-Up: Matchbox Closure, AACTA Festival Wrap-Up & More...
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