HOLLYWOOD & STARTUP STARS TO SHINE AT VIVID SYDNEY

VIVID Sydney will shine for 23 nights this year with a killer line-up of speakers including Atlassian, the Hollywood hit-makers behind House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, and Canva's Melanie Perkins.

The business savvy speakers will take the stage at the three-week long premier Sydney business event beginning in late May which encourages creative thinking by giving a platform to artists and business leaders.

Destination NSW CEO and executive producer of the festival, Sandra Chipchase, says this will be the longest ever Vivid Sydney.

"Vivid Sydney delivers the world's leading light artists in Vivid Light, cutting-edge musicians in Vivid Music, and creative innovators in Vivid Ideas," says Chipchase.

"In 2015 the festival attracted a record 1.7 million attendees, and this year visitors to Vivid Sydney will have longer to experience the wonder of Vivid Sydney, and enjoy our biggest year yet."

The Sunrise 2016 conference, held at Carriageworks on May 30, is Vivid Sydney's startup conference presented by founders, for founders.

Mike Cannon-Brookes of Australia's first unicorn company, Atlassian, online design platform Canva's Melanie Perkins, Vinomofo co-founder Andre Eikmeier. Google Fiber's Craig Barratt, Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen and fashion startup Stylerunner's co-founder Julie Stevanja are tipped to share their 'big mistakes, near misses and a-ha moments' with the audience.

The Game-Changers series will follow on from The Sunrise 2016 in June, shining a big spotlight on the evolving business of content creation and delivery.

Orange Is The New Black's creator Jenji Kohan will give advice on content creation by sharing her approach to storytelling and character crafting.

Before creating the hit Netflix series, Kohan started her writing career on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and went on to work on shows including Mad About You,Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls.

Hollywood big gun Spike Jonze - writer and director behind Where the Wild Things Are,Being John Malkovich and Her - will speak on his journey and also his foray into innovative media business Vice Media as creative director.

As well, House of Cards screenwriter and producer Beau Willimon - the brains behind the play that inspired Ides of March with George Clooney - will engage in a fireside chat with ABC's Leigh Sales, discussing his approach to collaboration and the business behind producing quality content.

There's a few Aussies in the Vivid Sydney business mix too. Blogger and creative director Margaret Zhang will cover the topic of digital, drawing on her background working with brands like Louis Vuitton, UNIQLO and Clinique, and offer insights for freelancers managing and growing their own communities.

Click through for the full Vivid Sydney line-up.