WAVES 2025: Australian-Indian Creators Take Centre Stage in Global Storytelling

From Melbourne to Mumbai, diaspora voices are no longer waiting for permission — they’re writing the script.

What happens when the world’s fastest-growing streaming industry meets one of the most culturally rich diasporas in Australia? You get a summit like WAVES 2025 — not just a networking event, but a turning point. Held in Mumbai, this year’s edition of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit was more than an industry gathering. It was a soft power milestone, where stories became instruments of diplomacy, identity, and collaboration.

For the first time, Australia’s presence at WAVES was not peripheral — it was strategic and central. A government-backed delegation brought senior representatives from Screen Australia, SBS, ABC, and Austrade, all actively forging partnerships and championing diaspora narratives.

Rather than being seen solely as a destination for technical talent or finance, Australia was positioned as a creative partner, with its multicultural reality viewed as a valuable narrative asset. As Asia-Pacific demand for original content intensifies, Australia’s diasporic perspectives offer fresh, authentic stories with global appeal.

One of the summit’s standout sessions, “Diaspora Storytelling: Bridging Cultures Through Screen,” showcased how narratives once boxed as “niche ethnic content” are now considered central to mainstream entertainment.

Participants like Mind Blowing Films discussed the evolution of stories rooted in migration, identity, and bilingual households. These are no longer background material—they are front-page content.

According to industry sources, at least two diaspora-led OTT series were greenlit post-summit, one set in Melbourne’s western suburbs and another exploring a cross-cultural family split between Mumbai and Sydney. The shift is clear: diaspora storytelling is not a side act, it’s the main stage.

Who Was in the Room: Power Meets Purpose

WAVES 2025 was attended by some of the most influential figures in global screen media, including:

• Kelly Day, Vice President, International, Amazon Prime Video
• Phil Hardman, Executive VP & GM, BBC Studios Asia
• Kaitlin Yarnall, Chief Storytelling Officer, National Geographic Society
• Rajkumar Hirani, acclaimed Indian director
• Ektaa Kapoor, media producer and studio head
• Anil Kapoor and Akshay Kumar, representing the creative face of India’s film diplomacy

While the Australian mainstream delegation was led by institutional powerhouses, several local creative talents were also represented, each pushing the boundaries of what multicultural content can be.

Here are just a few names that emerged from the summit as forces to watch in diaspora storytelling:

🎭 Arka Das – Actor & Screenwriter

Best known for his role and co-writing on Here Out West, Arka Das participated in roundtables focused on cross-border narratives and authenticity in character development. His work consistently avoids stereotypes, instead reflecting the complexity of diasporic identity.

✍️ Tanya D’Souza – Screenwriter

A rising voice from Melbourne, Tanya’s short film about growing up in a Gujarati-Australian household received attention during the Diaspora Shorts Lab. Her stories centre on language, matriarchal strength, and generational tension—striking chords in both Indian and Australian audiences.

🎬 Nish Srikandan – Director

Based in Sydney, Srikandan’s short films and micro-series have made the rounds at multicultural festivals. His proposed romantic drama, which links Chennai and Canberra through food and family, generated interest from both Indian streaming platforms and local producers at WAVES.

Each of these creatives (not to be confused with producers or managers) is directly involved in scriptwriting, directing, or acting, and their presence at WAVES underscores a growing global appetite for lived experiences from migrant communities.

WAVES 2025 was not only a storytelling summit, it was a diplomatic platform. Repeated references were made to the Australia-India Audio Visual Co-Production Agreement, now seen as a cornerstone for long-term collaboration.

Fiona Cameron, COO of Screen Australia, summed it up:

“India’s entertainment market is not just a destination for export — it’s a partner in shaping inclusive global narratives.”

This reflects a growing recognition that cultural diplomacy through screen content is as potent as trade or defence agreements in shaping bilateral relations. Stories build empathy, familiarity, and influence — and Australia is now showing up to that conversation prepared.

For the 750,000+ Indian Australians watching from home, WAVES 2025 wasn’t just about media deals. It was symbolic. A long-awaited confirmation that stories born in Melbourne’s Dandenong or Sydney’s Harris Park are now valid, valuable, and visible globally.

Gone are the days when creators had to dilute or ‘Aussie-fy’ their work to get airtime. Now, platforms are actively seeking this complexity. Diaspora content is no longer a footnote — it’s fast becoming the feature.

WAVES 2025 wasn’t a single event. It was a recalibration of what global storytelling looks like in 2025 and beyond.

For Australian-Indian creatives, the summit confirmed that the world wants more than tokenism. It wants truth, hybridity, emotion, and the courage to speak from in-between spaces. Australia’s diaspora community is uniquely placed to lead that charge, and WAVES 2025 gave them a seat, not just at the table, but at the mic.

• Screen Australia – Co-Productions
• DFAT – Australia-India AV Agreement
• WAVES Summit 2025 – Indian Express Coverage
• Press Information Bureau India – WAVES Summary