A question Bonnie Bonnie McBride always gets asked is: what exactly is a producer?

She says that at the Academy Awards, there are separate categories for best actor, actress, director and screenplay. But when they announce the best picture, it’s the producer who accepts the awards.

As a self-employed film producer, McBride is in many aspects of the filmmaking process.

Films that McBride has worked on range from Taryn Brumfitt’s Embrace Kids (2022), Daniel Radcliffe’s Escape From Pretoria (2020) and Pia Borg’s docu-drama Demonic.

On presenting the award, the Managing Director of kwpx Sam Davies said all the 40 Under 40 were creative and McBride was “living proof that you can bring stories to life on a global stage from here in Adelaide”.

“They might not be the Eentrepreneur or the star in front of the camera, but it is often the producers of this world who, in my mind, wield the most creative swords,” he said.

“They are the master problem solvers, the innovators, the critical thinkers and the glue that binds a new creation together.”

McBride understands careers in the Australian film industry don’t have a high retention rate, which is a result of contract work, lack of support for underrepresented groups and lack of human resources management.

McBride said she is passionate about “creating a positive working environment”.

Davies echoed McBride’s desire to make Adelaide the best place to work and live.

He said that having spoken to many 40 Under 40 alumni he saw the “intense passion and vision that exists in young South Australian business owners”.

“There is a desire to smash down walls and totally re-imagine the world we are living in.”