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BIographies

Ms Greer

Stephen Luby Producer

Stephen Luby has worked as a film and television producer in Australia for over 25 years. He began as a documentary maker, and then moved into prime-time entertainment television where he worked on high profile sketch comedy series such as Full Frontal, Jimeoin and Big Girl’s Blouse. Then followed a number of successful feature film projects, including The Craic and Crackerjack, each was #1 Box Office Australian film in its release year. In 2000 Stephen teamed up with fellow producer Mark Ruse to form Ruby Entertainment. With Gina Riley and Jane Turner, they developed the original series of Kath and Kim in 2001. Subsequent productions have included the Murray Whelan telemovies for the Seven Network, starring David Wenham and Sam Neill, and written by John Clarke; and the comedy/drama series Bed of Roses, which ran for three years on ABC TV, and starred Kerry Armstrong. Stephen has most recently produced the mini-series The Secret River, the ABC’s top-rating local drama for 2015. Stephen has been recipient of the Screen Producer’s Association of Australia Producer of the Year award on three occasions, most recently in 2015 for The Secret River.

Mark Ruse Producer

For the last 15 years, Mark Ruse has co-run successful Production Company, Ruby Entertainment and co-produced all of its landmark award winning drama and narrative comedy series, including, The Secret River; three series of the drama Bed of Roses; the Murray Whelan telemovies series for the Seven Network; the first two series of Kath and Kim; The Games with John Clarke; and the movie The Extra. In 2013, he worked as an Executive Producer for the BBC and produced a 16-part drama series in Bangladesh, Ujan Ganger Naiya. He has been the recipient of a number of awards. In 2003, he was voted by peers as Producer of the Year (SPAA award). The following year, he was co-recipient of the Top 10 Producers to Watch from Variety Magazine in Cannes, from a worldwide selection of candidates. Together with Steve Luby he won, three times in the past 10 years, the peer-voted SPA Producer of the Year for TV award for productions. Before this, he produced series such as Fast Forward, drama series, The Power, the Passion, The Adventures of Lano and Woodley and a number of documentaries, including the award winning Hoddle Street.

Daina Reid Director

Daina Reid began her career in the film and television industry as a comedy writer and actor appearing alongside Eric Bana and Rachel Griffiths before making the move behind the camera. Over the last decade, she has cemented her position as one of Australia’s most sought-after directors of premium event television. Her work traverses the genres of crime, the supernatural, action and comedy. She has been a frequent collaborator with award-winning producer John Edwards on projects including Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, the story of journalist and editor Ita Buttrose and Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, which followed Kerry Packer’s rise to becoming the most influential man in the history of Australian sport. Both mini-series received AACTA award nominations for Best Direction. Following the success of The Birth of Cleo, Daina directed the follow up Paper Giants: Magazine Wars, the story of the golden years of the glossy women's magazines. In 2013, she directed Nowhere Boys, the top-rating mini-series Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS and several episodes of the ABC TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. In 2015 Daina directed the landmark ABC mini-series The Secret River.

Alica Gwinner Writer

Alica Gwinner graduated from the RMIT Advanced Diploma of Screenwriting in 2014 with high distinctions and a producer-attached project in hand. She currently has a feature film in development with producer Stephen Luby of Ruby Entertainment and has numerous other projects in various stages of development. In the rare moment that Alica’s not writing, or thinking about what she wants to write next, she’s enjoying life in Melbourne with her two adult daughters.

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