Sharlene George
Ngāti Māoate, Ngāti Tamarua o Takitumu, Ngāti Paerangi o Ngamaru
Managing Director

Sharlene is a founding partner of global production company, Sweetshop. Over the last 18 years she has focused on delivering world-class commercial production facilitated in multiple countries. Forging new markets and clients within these markets has become the core of Sweetshop’s business with eight offices across Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok, Shanghai, London, Los Angeles and New York.

As a New Zealand born Cook Islander, telling more indigenous stories is an extremely important part of Sharlene’s focus.

Gal Greenspan
Managing Director

Gal is a co-founder of Israeli based Green Productions along with Roi Kurland. He’s produced nearly a dozen critically acclaimed films including Scaffolding (Cannes Acid 2017, TIFF 2017, JFF 2017 Best Film award), Menashe (Sundance 2017, Berlinale 2017, distributed in the US by A24), Youth (Berlinale 2013), and Summer Vacation (Sundance 2013, shortlisted for Oscars®).

Gal is a firm believer that art and commercial success can live together. He brings in-depth experience in international co-productions and is focused on bringing Australian and New Zealand stories to global audiences.

Alice Burgin
Head of Documentary

Alice Burgin is best known for her role as the CEO/Conference Director of the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) where she oversaw over one million dollars of project funds and skills development training invested into the documentary and factual sector. During her time, she instigated Cut to the Chase, AIDC's curated marketplace with over 120 projects passing through it annually, as well as the Indigenous Creators Program, Leading Lights and numerous initiatives to support project development from production through to completion. She has over a decade of experience in the film and television industry in Australia and overseas, as well as a dual research PhD. in film funding policy awarded from the University of Melbourne/Université de Paris X, France. 

Rachael Turk
Head of Scripted

Rachael is an AWGIE Award-winning writer, creator and one of Australia’s most experienced development producers. For Easy Tiger Productions, she worked as part of the Fremantle Global Drama team across Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Norway, and was the Development Producer on all three seasons of the AWG-Award winning ABC TV drama Jack Irish (2016-2021.) Before that, at Essential Media & Entertainment, she spearheaded the Scripted development slate, co-creating two series for SBS TV: the AACTA-, ADG- and AWG-award winning Sunshine (2017) and Séries Mania acclaimed The Principal (2015). Prior to Essential, she worked at Endemol Southern Star on shows such as Puberty Blues and Spirited S3, Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo and its sequel Magazine Wars.

Gemma Knight
Development and Production Executive

Gemma is a Canneseries award-winning producer, who cut her teeth on live television, writing and hosting over 200 episodes of New Zealand's iconic What Now across five seasons from 2010-2015.

In 2019, Gemma produced AACTA nominated online series Over and Out (Cannes series Short form winner 2019). Prior to that, Gemma associate produced feature films The Butterfly Tree (TIFF 2017, MIFF 2017, Triple AACTA Nominated) and Harmony (currently streaming on Stan.) She is currently in development on feature doc 2D LOVE (Doc Edge Pitch Winner 2020, AIDC Award 2020) under her company Midwinter Films, whilst working across a number of projects on the Sweetshop & Green slate.

Katy Roberts
Director of Operations & Content Strategy

Katy is a producer and production executive specialised in creative development and programming for global audiences.

Her recent producing credits include as Co-Producer on Sara Kern’s Moja Vesna (Berlinale 2022) and Producer on Eddie Martin’s Fire Front.

Katy spent seven years at global youth media company VICE where she spearheaded the setup and growth of VICE Australia and New Zealand’s production departments and programming slates, before being tapped to lead VICE’s development for Asia Pacific as their Head of Development.

Rickylee Russell-Waipuka
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa
Development Assistant

Rickylee is best known for her role as Chardonnay in Boy, directed by Taika Waiti as well as roles in Waka Warriors and This is Piki. With an established background in theatre, she has performed and toured extensively with Hawaiki Tū Haka Theatre Company, and throughout Canada facilitating and performing haka workshops at Sākihiwē Festival and Edge of the World Festival amongst others.

In late 2018, Rickylee began channeling her experience behind the scenes, leading her to join Sweetshop & Green in 2019. Rickylee is passionate about First Nations projects, and ensuring the appropriate voices are at the table when it comes to safe guarding culture.  

Rachel Forbes
Associate Producer      

Rachel Forbes is a multi-skilled producer with experience working across Australia, Asia and Europe. Her credits across film and TV include as Associate Producer on Amazon Original documentary The Defenders and as Line Producer on Goran Strolevski’s Of an Age and Gristmill’s ABC TV Series Summer Love.

Rachel has worked in the production office for features like Lion and Angel of Mine and worked with influential Australian Producers including Krystina Ceyton, Angie Fielding and Imogen Banks. She has also worked as field producer for ABC International’s program Fashion Asia, and Food Bowl.

Rachel is passionate about stories that reflect modern Australian life, and is hopeful for a future in which we see more equality both in front of and behind the camera.

Kate Laurie
Development Producer

Kate is a Berlinale Talent alumni who began her career working with filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson.

By 2017 she had independently produced her first feature film Strange Colours (Alena Lodkina) which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for an AACTA award for Best Independent Feature. In 2018, she produced Three Stories Inside A Rental Van (Lewis Attey) which premiered at Clermont Ferrand before touring extensively.

She undertook a producer placement with Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia, where she produced documentary series Art Bites: Third Culture Kids for ABC (Santilla Chingaipe).

Her latest narrative feature Petrol (Alena Lodkina) premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2022.

Anu Hasbold
Development Producer

Formerly head of short form video at Vice, Anu managed a network of producers across the Asia Pacific region.

Prior to this, as senior producer at Vice, she produced and directed episodes of their flagship documentary series, broadcast on VICELAND. She worked on The Stay Inn, Rage in the Cage, New Zealand's Synthetic Drug Epidemic, Island Queens & Auckland's Underground Vogue Scene.

Anu co-founded Three Five Films in 2020 and was commissioned by Screen Australia & Al Jazeera International to produce a television documentary for their flagship TV programme, Witness.

Anu was most recently supervising producer on the 7am podcast. Prior to this was podcast producer at Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Celyren Phipps
Office & Production Coordinator

Celyren Phipps is an experienced Production Coordinator, having  worked in the production offices of shows such as The Clearing (Disney +) and Summer Love (Gristmill’s ABC TV Series).

Her feature film credits include Goran Stoleveski’s Of An Age, Anthony Hayes’s Gold and the third instalment in the Wog Boy trilogy Wog Boys Forever.

Celyren is also a classically trained Screen Actor, and enjoys spending her free time performing, collaborating and creating experimental and contemporary content for screen.

Bonnie Crawshaw-McLean
Personal Assistant

Bonnie Crawshaw-McLean graduated with a degree in Gender Studies, Sociology, and indigenous studies in 2022. Bonnie is passionate about bringing these issues together within the film space.

She is an experienced assistant and joined Sweetshop & Green in 2023 and is excited about working on meaningful projects that discuss stories often left on the periphery.

Eitan Anner        
Story Consultant

Multi-award winner writer-director Eitan Anner is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Sam Spiegel Film Institute, where he teaches screenwriting and directing.

Eitan has written and directed numerous television series and feature films. Among his works are A Quiet Heart (Grand Prix - Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2016), Love and Dance – (official selection Berlinale/Generation K+, 2007) and Poker Face (Best TV Drama Award, Banff intl. T.V. festival 2002).

Eitan has been consulting with writers and directors across various projects for Sweetshop & Green since 2020.

Kim Stringer       
CFO