Umbrella Entertainment is an Australian owned, independent all-rights feature film, documentary and television program distribution company that was set up in 2001 by Jeff Harrison. The company is based in the
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of
Kew, VictoriaKew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
.
Umbrella Entertainment licenses and distributes content both locally and internationally across all distribution platforms including: Theatrical, Non-Theatrical, Ancillary,
Pay TVPay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
, Free TV,
Pay-Per-ViewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
, Home Video including
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
& Blu-ray (Rental and Retail) and new technology platforms such as V.O.D, Download to Own, Download to Rent,
StreamingStreaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
and
WirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
.
One of Umbrella’s areas of speciality is updating classic and nostalgic Australian film and TV content into High Definition and Standard Definition transfers for all current and future technologies and distribution platforms.
Theatrical Distribution
Umbrella Entertainment’s first-run theatricals include such films as the highest grossing Spanish Film of 2010,
Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
’s - Julia's Eyes (Los Ojos de Julia) released on 2 June 2011 winner of ‘Best Actor & Best Film’ at the Lola Awards 2011 Vincent Wants to Sea (Vincent Will Meer), French romantic comedy
Shall We Kiss?Shall We Kiss? Shall We Kiss? Shall We Kiss? (French Title: Un baiser s'il vous plaît is a 2007 French romantic comedy film directed by Emmanuel MouretStarring are Virginie Ledoyen, Emmanuel Mouret, Julie Gayet, Michaël Cohen, Frédérique Bel and Stefano Accorsi....
, stranger than fiction documentary,
Big River ManBig River Man is a 2009 documentary film directed by John Maringouin. It follows the Slovenian long-distance swimmer Martin Strel as he swims the entire 3,300 mile length of the Amazon River, between February and April 2007....
, Oscar short-listed Israeli documentary Precious Life and Indian feel-good tale
AmalAmal , 2007, is a Canadian drama film directed and written by Richie Mehta. Set in modern-day New Delhi, India, it tells the story of a poor autorickshaw driver, Amal Kumar....
.
As well as international content Umbrella Entertainment also has a growing range of Australian titles including surfie thriller Caught Inside, monster/ slasher flick Primal and revenge thriller
The HorsemanThe Horseman is a 2008 Australian thriller directed and written by Steven Kastrissios and starring Peter Marshall, Evert McQueen and introducing Caroline Marohasy.- Plot:...
.
Licensing, distribution and sales
Umbrella Entertainment has a catalogue of over 1500 titles spanning many genres, including vintage Australian film and TV titles including
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
’s classic
Picnic at Hanging RockPicnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 drama and mystery novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay. She wrote it over a four-week period at her home Mulberry Hill in Baxter, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. It was first published in 1967 in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was released in...
,
Puberty BluesPuberty Blues is a 1981 Australian film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film is based on the 1979 novel Puberty Blues, by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, which is a proto-feminist teen novel about two 13 year-old girls from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, Australia...
,
The LighthorsemenThe Lighthorsemen is a 1987 Australian feature film about the men of a World War I light horse unit involved in the 1917 Battle of Beersheeba...
,
The InterviewThe Interview is a 1998 Australian thriller film from writer-director Craig Monahan, and is the first of two films directed by Monahan. Almost the entire film takes place in a police interrogation room, with some short flashback sequences, and the cast consists primarily of three key actors—Hugo...
, The
Don LaneDon Lane , born Morton Donald Isaacson, was an American-born talk show host and singer. Don Lane is best known for hosting The Don Lane Show, which was aired on The Nine Network in Australia from 1975 to 1983....
Show,
SkippySkippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
,
Bad Boy BubbyBad Boy Bubby is an Australian black comedy/drama film written and directed by Rolf de Heer. It stars Nicholas Hope and Carmel Johnson. It was released in 1993....
,
Dogs in SpaceDogs in Space is a 1986 Australian film set in the "little band scene" in Melbourne in 1978. It was directed by Richard Lowenstein and starred Michael Hutchence as Sam, the drug-addled frontman of the fictitious band from which the film takes its name....
,
The ClubThe Club is a satirical play by Australian playwright David Williamson, that follows the fortunes of a football club over the course of a season. It explores the clashes between "human loyalty versus materialistic gain". It was inspired by the backroom dealings and antics of the Victorian Football...
BMX BanditsBMX Bandits is a 1983 Australian children's adventure film featuring one of Nicole Kidman's earliest appearances.The film follows the exploits of two young BMX experts, P.J. and Goose , and their friend Judy , also starring James Mackay as the bike mechanic, after stumbling upon a box of...
and
BuddiesBuddies is a 1983 Australian comedy/drama film directed by Arch Nicholson and written by John Dingwall. Dingwall won the Best Original Screenplay AFI Award for the script...
. The company is also known for its range of
OzploitationOzploitation films are a type of low budget horror, comedy and action films made in Australia after the introduction of the R rating in 1971. The year also marked the beginnings of the Australian New Wave movement, and the Ozploitation style peaked within the same time frame...
titles such as
RoadgamesRoadgames is a 1981 Australian film directed by Richard Franklin. The film stars Stacy Keach as a truck driver, and Jamie Lee Curtis as a hitchhiker.-Synopsis:...
,
PatrickPatrick is a 1978 Australian horror film directed by Richard Franklin and written by Everett De Roche. It is the pivotal movie of respected Australian director Richard Franklin's career.-Plot summary:...
, Stone and
Mad Dog MorganMad Dog Morgan is a 1976 Australian bushranger film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil. It is based upon the life of Dan Morgan...
.
They also release TV shows from the past including
The Secret Life of UsThe Secret Life of Us was a television drama series set in the beachside suburb of St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. The series was produced by Southern Star Entertainment and screened in Australia from 2001 to 2005 on Network Ten and on Channel 4 in the UK...
,
Ship To Shore,
Number 96Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
,
The SaintThe Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
,
Punky BrewsterPunky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...
and
The PrisonerThe Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, as well as current shows such as
Outrageous FortuneOutrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
and
The Only Way Is EssexThe Only Way Is Essex, is a British BAFTA award-winning semi-reality show based in Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way."...
.
Umbrella Entertainment distribute a large number of World Cinema titles in Australia such as Cinema Paradiso, Satayjit Ray,
UgetsuUgetsu is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Set in 16th century Japan, it stars Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō, and is inspired by short stories by Ueda Akinari and Guy de Maupassant...
,
La Dolce VitaLa Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
and
Vittorio De SicaVittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
's The Bicycle Thief.
Umbrella Entertainment have a large horror selection with
George A. RomeroGeorge Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
titles
Night of the Living DeadNight of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, Dawn of the Dead, Day Of The Dead and
The Crazies,
Dario ArgentoDario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
classics including
SuspiriaSuspiria is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi. The film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, only to discover that it is controlled by a coven of witches. The film's score was...
and
PhenomenaPhenomena is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento. An edited version of the film was released in the United States under the title Creepers , the game called Clock_Tower_ that was released in 1995 for snes , was loosely based on Phenomena.Jennifer Connelly stars as a young girl who...
, plus
Tobe HooperTobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
’s
The Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
,
Wes CravenWesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
’s Last House on the Left and
Clive BarkerClive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
’s
HellraiserHellraiser is a 1987 British and American horror film based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels...
, to name but a few.
TV series
- Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
- Against the Wind
Against the Wind was a 1978 Australian television mini-series.It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia...
- The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
- Blankety Blanks
Blankety Blanks was a popular Australian game show based on the American game show Match Game. It was hosted by Graham Kennedy on Network Ten. It ran from 1977-1978.Regular panelists were Ugly Dave Gray, Noeline Brown, Carol Raye and Stuart Wagstaff...
- By the Sword Divided
By the Sword Divided is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1983 and 1985.The series was a historical drama set during the mid 17th century, dealing with the impact of the English Civil War on the fictional Lacey family, made up of both Royalist and Parliamentarian supporters.It...
- Casualty
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
- Criss Angel Mindfreak
Criss Angel Mindfreak is a show distributed by A&E Network. It debuted in 2005, and centers on stunts and street magic acts by magician Criss Angel.-Career as magician:...
- The Dave Allen Show
David Tynan O'Mahoney , better known as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, very popular in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. He also became known in the United States through repeats of his shows on public television. His career had a major resurgence during the late...
- Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
- The Don Lane Show
- The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
- The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
- Father, Dear Father in Australia
Father, Dear Father is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973....
- Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol...
- The Games
- Good Chef Bad Chef
Good Chef Bad Chef is a cooking show which first aired on the Seven Network in 2006 and ended in 2007. It is currently screened at Network Ten....
- Graham Kennedy Coast to Coast
- I Spy
- Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.-Origins and overview:Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner...
- My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
- The New Adventures of Black Beauty
The New Adventures of Black Beauty was a television drama series made in 1990-91 by Isambard Productions Ltd in association with London Weekend Television and The Fremantle Corporation...
- Norman Gunston Show
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.- Early years :...
- Number 96
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
- Ocean Girl
Ocean Girl is an Australian science fiction TV series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character...
- Outrageous Fortune
Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
- Peewee's Playhouse
- The Professionals
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
- The Protectors
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It is Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in the present day...
- Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...
- Rich Man, Poor Man
Rich Man, Poor Man was a 1976 American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT on Monday night for twelve weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced by Universal Television and was the second time programming of this nature had been attempted. The first TV...
- The Saint
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
- Secret Army
Secret Army is a television drama series made by the BBC and the Belgian national broadcaster BRT created by Gerard Glaister. The series chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen, usually having been shot down by the...
- The Secret Service
The Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, made as a Century 21 production for ITC Entertainment and broadcast in 1969...
- Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
- Star Fleet
- State Coroner
State Coroner could refer to:* Coroner an officer of law responsible for investigating deaths* State Coroner an Australian television series on Network ten...
- Supercar
Supercar was a children's TV show produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis's AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment. 39 episodes were produced between 1961 and 1962, and it was Anderson's first half-hour series. In the UK it was seen on ITV and in the US in syndication...
- Topp Twins
The Topp Twins are the folk singing sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp.They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They are openly lesbian...
- The Tripods
- Watership Down
Watership Down is an animated television series, adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Adams. It was a co-production of Alltime Entertainment of the United Kingdom and Decode Entertainment of Canada, and produced by Martin Rosen, the director of the 1978 feature film...
- Water Under the Bridge
- The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors is an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the hospital staff, screened on the Nine Network from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March...