Culture Shapers

Australia is the world's second-largest fossil fuel exporter, making its storytellers among the most strategically important voices in the global climate conversation. Australian stories have global reach, and what gets normalized in Australian culture shifts perceptions and drives action across continents. That's exactly why we were thrilled to partner with leading groups in the Australian film industry to share some Hollywood Climate Summit insights and support local leadership to scale their work.

In partnership with Groundswell Giving and Minderoo Foundation, the Hollywood Climate Summit helped bring Culture Shapers to life: a transformative immersion program for 90 of Australia's leading screen industry figures, filmmakers, executives, writers, and producers who shape the content millions of Australians consume every day.

Rather than traditional climate education, we designed the day as a cultural intervention. Working with curator Sam Watson-Wood of Friends with Strangers, we built an immersive experience that embedded climate context directly into everyday storytelling practices, not teaching climate facts, but fundamentally shifting how participants think about their role as cultural influencers in Australia's climate future.

The conversation was electric. Voices from across the Hollywood and Australian screen industries came together, including NBCUniversal's Kimberly Burnick, True Detective: Night Country producer Mari Jo Winkler, Spirit Rangers creator Karissa Valencia, and Australian luminaries Yael Stone, Nardi Simpson, Rebecca Huntley, Kelsey Munro, Paul Walton, and Lana Greenhalgh. And partners Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sustainable Screens Australia made the day unforgettable.