Urtext Film Productions
Urtext Film Productions is a film company located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was set up in 2005 when Matthew Salleh combined with a number of other young university graduates to establish a place where they could pursue their filmmaking dreams.
These like-minded filmmakers combined their resources in the hope of making interesting new films. “The idea was to create something of a filmmakers co-op," said Matthew Salleh. "We’d all develop our own films but pool our creative and technical resources to achieve them. It can be hard getting a film project up on your own – we figured our strength would be in numbers".
By 2008, Urtext was a fully-fledged independent arts and media collective. They produced films, and held art exhibitions and played host to gigs. The company not only produces its own film projects, but plays a pivotal role in the production of many new South Australian films. It moved from the original studio in 2010, and now acts solely as a commercial production company, with Rose Tucker as head of production and Matthew Salleh as creative director.
Feature films
Offside
Their first feature film Offside was independently financed. When writer/director Carlo Petraccaro took his script to Urtext, the collective quickly embraced the idea. It was shot in less than 30 days, with limited access to locations. Executive producer, Matthew Salleh, said that he believed Australian "audiences want to see themselves reflected on the screen" and that Offside fulfills that desire.
The film gained enormous support from the local football community. Intense interest from numerous local businesses and individuals made private funding of the film achievable, and, as Filmink put it, "something the neighborhood could be a part of". Many members of the Adelaide United Football Club attended screenings of the film. Matthew Salleh explained that Offside is "about those die-hard football fans we all know and love. They're who this film is based on, and they are the ones that want to see this film, so we're looking to them, as opposed to the mainstream film industry, to help promote this movie".
Short Films
Since 2005, Urtext Film Productions have completed a number of short films.
Hole in the Water
Nominated for eight, and winner of three 2008 SA Short Screen Awards, Hole in the Water tells the story of a terminally ill man's demise and journey into fantasy and the afterlife. It was written and directed by Dimitrios Pouliotis, produced by Matthew Salleh, with cinematography by Aaron Schuppan.
Awards
- Recipient: SASSA Awards 2008 - Emerging Producer Award: Matthew Salleh
- Recipient: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Cinematography Award: Aaron Schuppan
- Recipient: SASSA Awards 2008 - People's Choice Award
- Nominated: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Film
- Nominated: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Drama
- Nominated: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Direction: Dimitrios Pouliotis
- Nominated: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Soundtrack: Daniel Varricchio
- Nominated: SASSA Awards 2008 - Best Actor: Nick Bennett
A $1300 short film made with borrowed equipment, Hole in the Water was beaten for Best Film at the SA Short Screen Awards by Anthony Maras's professionally produced, AFI Best Short Film winner Spike Up, which cost more than ten times as much to make. Aaron Schuppan defeated a more experienced field to win the Best Cinematography award.
In Search of G.O.D.
In this short film, Paul "Nazz" Nassari, Aaron Schuppan and Matthew Salleh conduct an exploration of the musical contribution made to 1970s Australian Nation|Identity. A subculture known as "Sharpies" found across Australia, but with its strongest expression in Melbourne, Victoria, sought meaning in a celebration of the music of such artists as Lobby Loyde and The Coloured Balls, Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, the Skyhooks, and the Beasts of Bourbon. In the film, Nassari interviews several such musical figures as well as Sharpie gang members from that era.
15/Love
15/Love was written and directed by Stephanie Mountzouris and produced by Rose Tucker. The short film about a teenage girl’s flirtation with adulthood, intimacy, sensuality and lots of sunscreen, had its premiere on 19 March 2010.
Aurora
An action/adventure film set in a world full of crafty characters and crazy adventures, Aurora is a mix of CGI and adrenalin. Produced by Matthew Salleh in association with Chris Kellett of Rough Cut Productions, it is currently in post-production and due for release in late 2010.
See also
- Cinema of Australia
- List of Australian films
- List of films set in Australia
- List of films shot in Adelaide