Judging Panel

SARAH FINN

Sarah Finn is a ground-breaking Casting Director and a creative force in the industry. Many of her films have left an enduring cultural imprint as well as broken box office records. With over 100 feature films and multiple awards to her credit, she is perhaps best known for casting the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe beginning with Iron Man in 2008. That franchise stands as the most successful in movie history. Sarah is also known for casting Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won multiple Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor, and became the most awarded film in movie history.

She has been recognized for casting additional Oscar-winning films Black Panther; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; and Crash. Those films all won the prestigious SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and earned her the Casting Society of America’s highest honor, the Artios Award. In 2021, she received two Emmy Nominations for WandaVision and The Mandalorian. To date, 61 of Sarah’s films have opened at the No. 1 spot for the domestic box office.

Sarah’s collaboration with the MCU includes 36 films and 16 streaming shows. Over the last decade, some of those films include originals and sequels for Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Guardians of The Galaxy, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Deadpool & Wolverine. Along the way, she has been responsible for finding and assembling casts with some of today’s biggest stars. Her latest movie on the big screen was The Fantastic Four: Fast Steps. She is now engaged in launching the next phase of films including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and culminating with the final Avengers sagas. In addition, she has been in charge of Casting and serving as a Consulting Producer on most of Marvel’s slate of Streaming projects for Disney+ for the past four years. These include WandaVision, Loki, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, Echo, Agatha All Along, and What If…?, plus the recently released Ironheart.

Also a collaborator in the Star Wars universe, she cast the hit series, The Mandalorian, created by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni with Lucasfilm for Disney+. She also cast several shows expanding that universe including The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, while serving as Consulting Producer on each. She recently completed casting on the upcoming feature film, The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Sarah has also been instrumental in building Legendary’s mythological “Monsterverse,” most recently releasing its fifth installment, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and with another film slated for release is 2027. For Netflix and Agbo, she cast the runaway hit franchise Extraction and The Electric State and has The Bluff with Agbo coming out next year. Sarah is once again working with Martin McDonagh for his next film, Wild Horse Nine, and with Shane Black for his upcoming film, Play Dirty.

Sarah’s past credits include a wide range of film genres: Jon Favreau’s comedy, Chef; Oliver Stone’s drama, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; indie favorites such as Martin McDonough’s Seven Psychopaths and Shane Black’s The Nice Guys; sports films Miracle, Coach Carter and She’s the Man; animated classics The Little Prince, Lion King and The Jungle Book; and action favorites such as Fast & Furious and Kick-Ass.

A graduate of Yale University and member of AMPAS (Executive Committee, Casting Branch), Sarah has served on the Executive Board of Women in Film and is on the Board of Advisors for the highly acclaimed Master Class educational series. She remains active in support of local theater and arts education in public schools.

THEA MCLEOD

Thea McLeod is an accomplished Australian casting director and is currently serving her fourth year as President of the Casting Guild of Australia (CGA). In 2025 she marked 15 years casting Neighbours, which recently wrapped after four decades on air. During that time she discovered and nurtured a new wave of Australian talent, many of whom are now seen on screens around the world.

Her credits span film and television, including Better Man (SBS), Schapelle (Nine), Underbelly Files: The Man That Got Away (Screentime), City Homicide (Seven), and UK–Australia co-productions Lie With Me, Riptide, Heat, and the upcoming Imposter. On film, she has cast the award-winning Pawno, Netflix Original Measure for Measure (which she also produced) and most recently cast Her Aussie Romance, the U.S. feature film A. Rimbaud, plus numerous other productions over the years

ANOUSHA ZARKESH    

AACTA and Casting Guild award winning Casting Director Anousha Zarkesh has specialised in high end Australian TV and film for over 25 years. 

Based in Sydney, her casting agency has gained a reputation for a specialised service championing cultural diversity and inclusive casting. The agency takes pride in casting for a wide range of genres including political satire, drama, comedy, telemovies, documentary series and film. 

Her feature film productions include the multi award winning films: Noora Niasari’s Shayda (2023), Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy (2023) and Sweet Country (2017), Thomas M Wright’s The Stranger (2022), Rachel Perkins’ Jasper Jones(2017), Ben Young’s Hounds of Love (2016), and soon to be released The Correspondent (2024) by Kriv Stenders amongst others

For television, productions include Thou Shalt Not Steal (STAN), Ladies in Black (ABC), Territory (Netflix), Class of 07(Prime), Firebite (AMC)  Total Control 1, 2 (ABC) , Mystery Road Series 1, 2, 3 (ABC), Rake (ABC), Redfern Now (ABC), Cleverman (ABC, SundanceTV), The Principal (SBS), INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (Seven), Catching Milat (Seven), Black Comedy (ABC), and the Australian adaptation of The Office (Amazon, BBC).   Full biog - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0953514/  or https://www.zarkesh.com.au/

Anousha currently sits as Vice President of the Casting Guild of Australia, The Advisory Board of Screen Illawarra and is an active member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the CGA.

NIKKI BARRETT

Nikki Barrett has been casting Australian and international film and television for over 20 years.  Her work includes acclaimed features such as Bring Her Back, Furiosa, Elvis, Talk To Me, Nitram, Anyone But You, Thirteen Lives, Dangerous Animals, The Power of the Dog, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Babadook, Hacksaw Ridge, I Am Mother, The Nightingale,  Peter Rabbit,  The Proposition, Holding The Man, Mao’s Last Dancer, The Sapphires, Somersault, The Daughter,  The Railway Man and Candy. Recent television work includes the much loved series, Boy Swallows Universe and Justin Kurzel’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

DACRE MONTGOMERY

Dacre Montgomery is best known for his performance as Billy Hargrove in Netflix's STRANGER THINGS. His acting credits include Gus Van Sant’s DEAD MAN’S WIRE, Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS, Dean Israelite’s POWER RANGERS and Samuel Van Grinsven’s WENT UP THE HILL. In 2026, Dacre will make his directorial debut with THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, as well as Brad Anderson’s MORAL CAPACITY and Daniel Goldhaber’s FACES OF DEATH. Dacre has also released a collection of poems entitled DKMH. He has received two Screen Actors Guild nominations for his work in the cast of STRANGER THINGS.

KARTANYA MAYNARD

Kartanya Maynard is a proud truwulway and Nunga woman from nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita (Tasmania). With a lifelong passion for performing that began in her earliest years, she has quickly established herself as a dynamic presence in Australian television and film since beginning her professional acting career in 2022. Her screen credits include standout roles in acclaimed series such as Deadloch, The Messenger, Gold Diggers, and the hit teen drama Heartbreak High. On stage, she has performed in Sydney Theatre Company’s Stolen and Archipelago Productions’ The Bleeding Tree.

Most recently, Kartanya wrapped the feature film Cooee. In 2024, her dedication to craft was recognised when she was named one of six finalists for the prestigious Heath Ledger Scholarship and in 2025 she was named the recipient of AACTA’s Brian Walsh Scholarship. 

Her creative scope extends beyond acting: she co-created the original series Nailing It and was a selected finalist through the SBS Digital Originals initiative.

As an Indigenous performer, Maynard brings authenticity and depth to every role, contributing meaningfully to the representation of First Nations stories and perspectives in Australian media. Her rapid rise and passion for storytelling signal a bright future across both Australian and international screens.