Curtin graduates work on new Australian true crime telemovie
Award-winning Curtin University of Technology film and TV graduates Grant Sputore and Sam Price have worked on the production of the new Australian true crime telemovie, 3 Acts of Murder.
Through their company, The Penguin Empire, the pair worked on the telemovie for Perth film and production house, Taylor Media.
“The Penguin Empire is a brand focused creative studio which we co-founded in 2007 fresh out of university,” said Mr Sputore, 24, of Winthrop.
“Beyond film production, we’re ready to use any visual medium, from design to photography or motion graphics to communicate an idea.
“For 3 Acts of Murder we were responsible for the titles, visual effects and even the behind the scenes materials for the DVD and online.”
Based on a true story, 3 Acts of Murder, tells how in 1928 Arthur Upfield, Australia's premier crime writer, plotted the perfect murder for his novel The Sands of Windee. Meanwhile, one of his friends, stockman Snowy Rowles, put the scheme into deadly effect resulting in one of Australia's most sensational murder trials of the 1930s.
An award-winning director in his own right, Mr Sputore said it was fantastic to work alongside Australian director Rowan Woods whose films include Little Fish starring Cate Blanchett and The Boys starring Toni Collette and David Wenham.
“On top of The Penguin Empire’s commitment to the 3 Acts of Murder I was given the opportunity to assist Rowan and watch him direct, which was a phenomenal learning experience,” Mr Sputore said.
3 Acts of Murder will premiere on ABC1 on Sunday, 14 June at 8:30pm and will be available on ABC’s iview until July 14.
Mr Sputore and Mr Price, 25, of Fremantle, graduated from Curtin with a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television in 2006.
This year has already been a big year for both of them. In March, Mr Sputore won Best Director and Best Drama at the WA Screen Awards for Legacy, a short drama set in the Australian outback. He has also worked on a new music video clip for Empire of the Sun.
Most recently, The Penguin Empire produced the video clip that won a 2009 WA Music Industry Award (WAMi) for Most Popular Music Video for Downsyde.
2 June 2009