Matchbox Pictures Executive Chairman, Michael McMahon, is to be honoured at the 18th Annual Screen Producers Australia Awards, today named as the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Michael has an illustrious film and television career spanning over 30 years. Starting in the industry as an entertainment lawyer, Michael McMahon produced his first short, Cruel Youth, in 1988 and has since been the producing force behind many of Australia’s critically acclaimed features, documentaries and television dramas, including Ali’s Wedding (2017), The Slap (2011) and Nowhere Boys (2013).
After forming Big and Little Films with Tony Ayres in 1999, Michael and Tony went on to co-found Matchbox Pictures with Helen Bowden, Penny Chapman and Helen Panckhurst in 2009. He is drawn to stories that explore the lives of those forced to fight for what they believe. That passionate empathy is contagious; creating a unified sense of community within his all projects.
Over the years Michael has strongly supported the screen industry, serving on boards for Screen Tasmania and Film Victoria. Recently Michael also expanded his career into teaching at Swinburne University and the University of South Australia, generously sharing his expertise with emerging talent, teaching his mentees to look at the world around them and find the interesting and important stories.
Michael is now Executive Chairman and Executive Producer at Matchbox and continues to share Australian stories across the country and the world.
“The Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges an individual’s lifetime contribution to enriching Australian culture through their work in the screen industry. Michael has a passion for social justice and a reputation for championing stories that highlight the diversity of human experience, and I congratulate him on this latest accolade,” said Screen Producers Australia, CEO, Matthew Deaner.
The SPA Awards ceremony takes place at the Forum Theatre, Melbourne on the final night of SCREEN FOREVER (20 – 22 November).
