Matt Richards is an Australian director whose work spans short films and documentaries, TV commercials, branded content and music videos. He holds a Master of Film & Television (Narrative) from the Victorian College of the Arts (2011).
His short films, FIRST CONTACT (2012), RABBIT (2014) and THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WILLIE BINGHAM (2015), have together screened in competition at over 100 film festivals, collected more than 50 awards and been streamed online by millions of viewers worldwide.
His short documentaries for the NGV (2014–2020), Australia’s most visited gallery, have featured internationally renowned artists, designers, illustrators and architects, including KAWS, Ai Weiwei, Oki Sato, David Shrigley, John Wolseley, Ron Brooks, Shaun Tan, Alison Lester and Leigh Hobbs, as well as fashion designers Viktor & Rolf and Jean Paul Gaultier.
In 2018, Matt was chosen by the Australian Directors’ Guild to join the ‘Ones To Watch’ Directors Program at the Screen Forever conference, and selected to pitch at the Melbourne International Film Festival’s 37ºSouth Market. He’s also landed Film Victoria-supported director’s placements on the Matchbox Pictures series CLICKBAIT (2020) for Netflix/NBCUniversal and the ABC TV series TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN (2016).
His commercial reel covers a wide range of industries, from art and fashion to banking and property. He’s worked with clients like NGV, Oyster, P&N Bank, Paringa Estate and the Australian Government.
Among his directorial highlights are:
- MEART – THE SEMI LIVING ARTIST (2004), a collaborative film/science project by biological arts lab SymbioticA, exhibited in Germany, Russia, Spain, Australia and the US.
- THE SUPER 8 DIARIES (2004–2007), a self-funded, four-year music documentary on the underground Australian rock/punk community.
- FIRST CONTACT (2012), a crowd-funded short drama, winner of eight awards, which screened competitively at 30 festivals in 16 countries.
- RABBIT (2014), a crowd-funded short drama, which received Special Recognition for Direction (San Francisco International Festival of Short Films) and selection for Melbourne International Film Festival's acclaimed emerging director program, Accelerator.
- THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WILLIE BINGHAM (2015), a short psychological horror financed by Screen Australia (Hot Shots program, 2014), which won 20 awards, screened competitively at 55 festivals in 19 countries and has been licensed to two anthology feature film projects.
+61 421 762 427
matt@fouranchorisland.com
