Name: Modern Moviemaking
Duration: 60 min

From first feature to 20th, our panel of emerging and established directors will discuss making movies in the current micro-positive moment and beyond. Hosted by Jordan Bastian.

Take a temp check on the current indie scene and what it’s like making a film today – whether it’s your debut or you’re a couple of decades deep. Discussing their recent projects and what might lie ahead are celebrated American director Joe Swanberg (Happy Christmas, MIFF 2014; Drinking Buddies, MIFF 2013), who is screening the Dakota Fanning-starring The Sun Never Sets at MIFF 2026; Hyun Lee (Asian Girls, MIFF 2018) whose buzzy first feature French Girls is set in Sydney’s fashion world; Maddelin McKenna (Patterns of the Afternoon, MIFF 2022), with her thrilling first feature Mad Rush, shot on the streets of Melbourne; and phenomenally prolific filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay, whose new feature Our Effed Up World, co-produced by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow, MIFF 2024), is her seventh at age 21.

Joe Swanberg is an indie mainstay who has directed more than 20 features, including Drinking Buddies, Digging for Fire, Happy Christmas and Nights and Weekends, which he co-directed with Greta Gerwig. In addition to writing and directing all 25 episodes of Netflix’s Chicago anthology Easy, he’s directed in TV for HBO, 20th Century Fox and Netflix.

Hyun Lee is a Korean-Australian writer and director based in Sydney. Her feature film debut French Girls premiered at the 2026 Sydney Film Festival, and her short film Asian Girls had its world premiere at SXSW South by Southwest Film Festival in 2018 and was a recipient of the ScreenNSW: Emerging Filmmakers’ Fund. Her recent TV writing credits include Paramount+ series Fake, starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham. The series broke subscription and streaming records and won the Australian Writers’ Guild Award for Limited Series.

Alice Maio Mackay is a 21-year-old award-winning filmmaker. Her latest feature film, Our Effed Up World, premiered at the 2026 Frameline Festival and has its international premiere this year at MIFF. Her films, including The Serpent’s Skin, Carnage for Christmas and Satranic Panic, have premiered at Frameline, Fantasia, SXSW Australia and Outfest festivals. Her features have had theatrical releases in Australia and North America and are Shudder/AMC+ exclusives.

Maddelin McKenna is a writer/director from Naarm/Melbourne. Her 2026 debut feature film Mad Rush will have its world premiere at the 74th Melbourne International Film Festival as part of the prestigious MIFF Premiere Fund. Her 2022 short film Patterns of the Afternoon premiered at MIFF 70, where Maddelin participated in the Accelerator Lab program; it also won Best Short Film at Melbourne Women in Film Festival in 2024. She has also worked as an executive assistant to renowned producers Tony Ayres and Andrea Denholm at Tony Ayres Productions.

Jordan Bastian is a film programmer and festival producer. She is currently part of the programming team for Fantastic Pitches at Fantastic Fest (USA). Most recently, Jordan led the Screen Festival program at SXSW Sydney, overseeing its curation, industry program and delivery. Her previous roles include General Manager and Specialty Programmer at Ritz Cinemas, Theatrical Consultant for Arcadia Distribution, and Programmer and State Operations Manager at Palace Cinemas.

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