Rebecca "Bec" Summerton is an Australian film producer who does most of her work with Closer Productions in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Working in film and television across many genres, she is known for producing ''

52 Tuesdays ''52 Tuesdays'' is a 2013 Australian coming-of-age drama film directed by Sophie Hyde, with the screenplay written by Matthew Cormack and story by Cormack and Hyde. The film centres on a teenage girl dealing with the gender transition of a paren ...

'', ''

The Hunting ''The Hunting'' is an Australian Drama (film and television), drama series starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, screening on SBS (Australian TV channel), SBS TV and SBS on Demand on 1 August 2019. The four-part miniseries was created by ...

'', ''

Aftertaste Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying fea ...

'', and ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

''.

Early life and education

Rebecca Summerton did a Bachelor of Arts at

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

in Adelaide.

Career

In 2006 Summerton produced the short film ''My Last Ten Hours With You'', directed by

Sophie Hyde Sophie Hyde (born 1977) is an Australian film director, writer, and producer based in Adelaide, South Australia. She is co-founder of Closer Productions and known for her award-winning debut fiction film, '' 52 Tuesdays'' (2013) and the comedy ...

, which was screened at the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

in 2007. The film won several awards including at the SA Short Screen Awards (part of the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

) including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Drama, and Emerging Producer. It won Best Film at the Mardi Gras My Queer Career Film Festival and the Audience Award at

Melbourne Queer Film Festival The Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) is an annual LGBT film festival held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in November. Founded in 1991, it is the largest queer film event in the Southern Hemisphere, in 2015 attracting around 23,000 att ...

, and was selected for competition at Uppsala Film Festival in Sweden and

St Kilda Film Festival St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She worked at the

South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...

in the 2000s, where she was key in the establishment of the FilmLab initiative in 2008, to encourage emerging filmmakers to create their first feature films on a low budget. In 2007-8 she was a part-time project officer at SAFC. After joining Closer Productions in 2011, she produced the feature documentary ''Sam Klemke's Time Machine'', which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2015 and was also screened at the

Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

. In the same year she produced director

's award-winning debut feature ''

''. Summerton has produced many documentaries, including the Dendy Award-winning short film '' I Want to Dance Better at Parties'' in 2014. For television, she produced the three-part documentary series about art, ''

Hannah Gadsby's Oz Hannah Gadsby (born 12 January 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, author and actor. They began their career in Australia after winning the national final of the Raw Comedy competition for new comedians in 2006. In 2018, their show '' Nanet ...

'', and the six-part comedy drama '' Fucking Adelaide'' in 2018. Summerton produced the

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...

drama mini-series ''

'' (2019) and the feature film ''

'', released in 2021. ''The Hunting'' attracted the highest number of viewers ever for a drama series on SBS. In 2020-2022 Summerton co-produced (with

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', '' Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints' ...

and Matthew Bate) two series of the comedy-drama ''

'' for

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

. In September 2021, Summerton, along with Closer colleague

, were announced as recipients of the Global Producers Exchange, a joint initiative by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

and

Australians in Film Australians in Film (AiF) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that serves the Australian community working in the film and television industry. It awards the annual Heath Ledger Scholarship to emerging Australian actors, as well as sev ...

which connects Australian producers with Hollywood decision-makers and creatives. In November 2022 it was announced that Summerton and filmmaker

Lisa Scott South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are manage ...

of Highview Productions(with whom she had previously collaborated on ''

'' in 2019) had bought the rights to adapt

Pip Williams Philip "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947), sometimes spelt Phillip, is an English record producer, arranger, and guitarist. He is best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues, but has also worked with a large number of we ...

' bestseller '' The Dictionary of Lost Words'' into a television series. Scott and Summerton will develop and adapt the book for television. She acted as executive producer for the documentary film '' The Defenders, made by Matthew Bate and released on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

in 2023. The film told the story of the fight to save Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi from imprisonment, after he was arrested in Thailand on orders from Bahrain. Summerton will co-produce the upcoming feature film ''Luna'' with

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

, written by Mark Rogers, and directed and co-written by Aaron Lucas.

Other activities

Summerton was appointed to the board of the

in December 2019, completing her term in December 2022. In December 2022, she was appointed to an interim board of

Mercury CX Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...

, headed by producers Kirsty Stark and Peter Hanlon, appointed to keep the Mercury Cinema afloat. the board is still in existence. She was on the jury of the 2020

. Summerton has also been a member of the external advisory panel to the Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts at Flinders University, headed by

Garry Stewart Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renown ...

, along with Greg Mackie, Wesley Enoch,

Jo Dyer Jo Dyer (born 1969) is an Australian theatre and film producer, and director of Adelaide Writers' Week from 2019 to 2022. She is known for the films '' Lucky Miles'' (2007) and '' Girl Asleep'' (2015). In 2021 she was involved in a legal case ...

, and others. Summerton is also a co-owner of Closer Productions.

Awards

Summerton's work as a producer has received recognition, including the following nominations and wins: * 2014: Winner, Dendy Award, for '' I Want to Dance Better at Parties'' * 2014: Nominated, Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Youth Feature Film, for ''52 Tuesdays'' * 2019: Nominated, AACTA Award for Best Telefeature or Mini Series at the 9th AACTA Awards, for ''The Hunting'' *2021: Nominated, AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series at the 11th

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the cinema of Australia, film and ...

, for ''Aftertaste''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Summerton, Rebecca Australian film producers Mass media people from Adelaide Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian women film producers