Closer Productions

Closer Productions was founded by Hyde and Mason, who are personal as well as professional partners, having both graduated from Flinders University in 1997.{{cite web | title=Flinders 50 Creatives Exhibition Program | via=Issuu| publisher=Flinders University | date=9 May 2016 | url=https://issuu.com/flindersuniversity/docs/flinders_50_creatives_exhibition_pr | access-date=15 August 2024}} They began Closer Productions in 2004{{cite web | title=Closer Productions | website=The Adelaide Review|first= David |last=Knight | date=26 September 2013 | url=https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/arts/cinema/2013/09/26/closer-productions/ | access-date=15 February 2021}} and produced their first work under the Closer banner in 2005.

Writer Matthew Cormack joined the pair soon afterwards, and Matthew Bate came in 2010;{{cite web|website=The Broadsheet| url=https://www.broadsheet.com.au/adelaide/entertainment/article/creative-couples-sophie-hyde-and-bryan-mason| title=Creative Couples: Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason|date=10 July 2018|first=Daniela|last=Frangos|accessdate=14 February 2021}} both of them are Flinders graduates too. Previously, Bate had his own company, Plexus Films, but after working on separate projects after winning FilmLab funding, with Bate having his short film The Mystery of Flying Kicks, he and the Closer team decided to amalgamate.

Closer Productions was registered as a private company on 28 January 2010.{{cite web | title=Current details for ABN 44 141 586 343 | website=ABN Lookup | date=1 November 2014 | url=https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/44141586343 | access-date=14 February 2021}} Producer Rebecca Summerton (also a Flinders graduate) joined the company shortly after the merger.

The company is located in the inner Adelaide suburb of Glenside, sharing the historic former administration building of Glenside Hospital with Adelaide Studios, which are managed by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).

The company is self-described as a "collective of film-makers". {{as of|2021}}, in addition to the four directors, Hyde, Mason (editor, DOP, producer, director{{imdb name|1737171|Bryan Mason}}), Cormack (writer, sales/delivery{{imdb name|2568692|Matthew Cormack}}), Summerton (producer{{cite web | title=Rebecca Summerton appointed to SAFC Board | website=SAFC | date=8 January 2020 | url=https://www.safilm.com.au/latest-news/rebecca-summerton-appointed-to-safc-board/ | access-date=15 August 2024}}), and Bate (writer, director{{imdb name|2800579|Matthew Bate}}), other members of the team include editor, designer, and visual effects creator Raynor Pettge,{{imdb name|3008005|Raynor Pettge}} director and screenwriter Matt Vesely(another Flinders graduate), and director Maya Newell (Gayby Baby, In My Blood It Runs).{{IMDB name|4181560|Maya Newell}}{{cite web|website=Closer Productions| url=https://closerproductions.com.au/info|title=Info|accessdate=14 February 2021}}

Closer Services creates promotional films for industry clients and projects documenting various aspects of arts and architecture,{{cite web | title=Closer Services | website=Closer Productions | url=https://closerproductions.com.au/services | access-date=15 February 2021}} including for clients such as the Adelaide Festival and the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). They created a series of videos for the 2020 Tarnanthi exhibition at AGSA, which included profiles of Ernabella Arts, Iwantja Arts and Tjala Arts.{{cite web | title=Tarnanthi 2020 Videos | website=AGSA – The Art Gallery of South Australia | url=https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/whats-on/tarnanthi/tarnanthi-2020/tarnanthi-2020-artist-portraits/ | access-date=15 February 2021}}

In September 2020, Closer Productions and the Adelaide Film Festival announced a "new grants program aiming to broaden accessibility to the Australian filmmaking industry for artists from underrepresented communities". Four selected emerging filmmakers would be awarded {{AUD|5,000}} as well as the opportunity to participate in three workshops with the Closer Productions team.{{cite web | title=Closer Productions and Adelaide Film Festival announce grants for underrepresented filmmakers | website=CityMag | date=28 September 2020|first=Johnny |last=Von Einem | url=https://citymag.indaily.com.au/culture/closer-productions-and-adelaide-film-festival-announce-grants-for-underrepresented-filmmakers/ | access-date=15 February 2021}}{{cite web| title=Closer Productions & Adelaide Film Festival announce grants for underrepresented voices| website=Glam Adelaide | date=28 September 2020 | url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/closer-productions-adelaide-film-festival-announce-grants-for-underrepresented-voices/ | access-date=15 February 2021}}

{{also|Sophie Hyde#Filmography}}

• 52 Tuesdays (2013)
• Animals (2019)

• Hannah Gadsby's Oz (2014), a 3-part series directed by Bate and featuring comedian and writer Hannah Gadsby
• Fucking Adelaide (2017) comedy drama, for ABC TV.{{cite web|url=https://closerproductions.com.au/films/fucking-adelaide|website=Closer Productions|title=Fucking Adelaide|accessdate=14 February 2021}}{{imdb title|6420462|Fucking Adelaide}} AKA F*!#ing Adelaide and F**king Adelaide.{{cite web|website=ABC iview|url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/f-ing-adelaide|title=F*!#ing Adelaide|accessdate=14 February 2021}}
• The Hunting (2019)
• Aftertaste (2021), created by Matthew Bate and Julie De Fina, directed by Jonathan Brough

• Beyond Beliefs: Muslims & Non-Muslims in Australia (2007){{IMDB title|8193048|Beyond Beliefs: Muslims & Non-Muslims in Australia}}
• Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (2011), documentary/comedy/drama, written and directed by Matthew Bate{{IMDB title|1766085|Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure}}
• Life in Movement (2011), a documentary about choreographer Tanja Liedtke
• Sam Klemke's Time Machine (2015), feature-length documentary, written and directed by Matthew Bate{{imdb title|4228876|Sam Klemke's Time Machine}}
• My Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling (2015), s short comic film written and directed by Matt Vesely.{{imdb title|5020558|My Best Friend Is Stuck on the Ceiling}}{{cite web|url=https://closerproductions.com.au/films/my-best-friend-stuck-ceiling|website=Closer Productions|title=My Best Friend Is Stuck on the Ceiling|accessdate=14 February 2021}}
• A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year-Old Girl (2017), written and directed by, and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey{{imdb title|7762244}}
• In My Blood It Runs (2019), feature-length documentary, directed by Maya Newell and others{{cite web|website=Closer Productions|title=In My Blood It Runs|url=https://closerproductions.com.au/films/my-blood-it-runs|accessdate=10 May 2021}}
• Eat the Invaders (2025), ABC TV documentary series about eating invasive species, presented by Tony Armstrong{{cite web |title=Eat The Invaders is set to change the conversation on our invasive species |website= Australian Broadcasting Corporation Help Centre |date=21 November 2024 |url=https://help.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/articles/11308519942543-Eat-The-Invaders-is-set-to-change-the-conversation-on-our-invasive-species |access-date=7 January 2025}}

• 2011: Life in Movement, winner, Best Work at the 2011 Ruby Awards{{cite news|title = Choreographer's tale tops awards|work = AdelaideNow|date = 10 September 2011|url = http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/arts/choreographers-tale-tops-awards/story-e6frees3-1226133421789|accessdate=14 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908190546/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/choreographers-tale-tops-awards/story-e6frees3-1226133421789| archive-date=8 September 2012}}
• 2011: Life in Movement, winner, Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize{{cite web|url=http://www.sundance.org/projects/animals-11d062ff-9b57-4d18-8b9c-6f786f83f95f|website=Sundance Institute|title=Animals|accessdate=14 February 2021|archive-date=17 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117012000/https://www.sundance.org/projects/animals-11d062ff-9b57-4d18-8b9c-6f786f83f95f|url-status=dead}}
• 2011, Life in Movement, nominated, AACTA Awards, Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Direction in a Documentary{{cite news|publisher=The Advertiser|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/sa-weekend/sophies-independent-streak/news-story/dd84da264951d7d23898da6740fcfa07?nk=fa91a6369c228cebfb03a8cae2aa0114-1554011900|title=Sophie's independent streak|series=SA Weekend|first=Penelope|last= Debelle|date=6 July 2018|accessdate=14 February 2021}}
• 2011: Life in Movement, Australian Film Critics Association Awards, Best Documentary{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1754128/awards?ref_=tt_awd|website=IMDb|title=Life in Movement: Awards|accessdate=15 February 2021}}
• 2013/4: 52 Tuesdays – multiple wins and nominations
• 2018: Fucking Adelaide, winner, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Award for Online Series Production of the Year{{cite web|url=https://www.if.com.au/guesswork-television-bunya-productions-top-spa-awards/|website=IF Magazine|title=Guesswork Television, Bunya Productions top SPA Awards|first=Jackie |last=Keast|date=23 November 2018|accessdate=14 February 2021}}{{cite web | last=Knox | first=David | title=Screen Producers Awards 2018: winners | website=TV Tonight | date=23 November 2018 | url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/11/screen-producers-awards-2018-winners.html | access-date=24 August 2024}}
• 2018: Fucking Adelaide, nominated, APDG Award for Costume Design for a Web Series (Renate Henschke)
• 2018: Fucking Adelaide, nominated, Adobe Award for Production Design for a Web Series (Amy Baker){{cite web|url=https://apdg.org.au/awards/2018apdgawardswinners|website=ADPG|title=2018 APDG Awards Winners|accessdate=14 February 2021}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite web | title=Closer Productions navigates its way through the pandemic with 'Aftertaste' | website=IF Magazine | date=14 July 2020|first=Don |last= Groves | url=https://www.if.com.au/closer-productions-navigates-its-way-through-the-pandemic-with-aftertaste/}} Interview with Rebecca Summerton, Bryan Mason, Sophie Hyde and Matthew Bate.

• {{official|https://closerproductions.com.au}}

Category:Film production companies of Australia

Category:Australian companies established in 2004

Category:Companies based in Adelaide