My passion for filmmaking started young.  I think I was around 11 or 12 when my brother Matt cast me in his VHS murder-mystery Death at Curraghmore.

After I finished school I started out making skateboarding videos.  Amazingly, this turned into a real job while I was still finishing my university {college} degree in journalism and social science.  That was money well spent!  Nah just kidding RMIT, you rock.  Not long after I graduated, I pretty quickly expanded into making surf, stand-up comedy and music shows for TV throughout the naughties.

This was a great way to cut my teeth and learn a bunch about both the ‘show’ and the ‘business’ sides of filmmaking.  During that period I worked a lot with Fox channels worldwide, and free-to-air broadcasters in Australia including Network 10, Channel 7 and SBS to create over a dozen programs. 

One of my proudest achievements was directing and producing the independent feature film The Man Who Souled The World about the iconoclastic business genius and irreverent skateboarding entrepreneur Steve Rocco.  The film received a theatrical release in the US, screened in numerous high-profile film festivals, and won a bunch of awards.

The end of this era saw me working as a development executive and cinematographer on the 2009 feature documentary Love The Beast featuring Eric Bana, which went on to become top-grossing film of its kind at the Australian box office.

Despite a number of memorable highlights, by the end of this chapter I was started feeling jaded by my experience in the entertainment industry.  The sandpit I was playing in was sullied by egomaniacs, narcissists, thieves and gatekeepers.  I’d found myself at the arse-end of a defective entertainment industry that was relying on failing models of doing business that was too-tightly controlled by greedy distributors who made an art of ripping content creators like me, and out-of-touch screen agencies who made you jump through hoops for months-and-years whilst venting a slow-flowing stream of pungent product on an unforgiving market that broadly classified all scripted Aussie films as ‘crap’ (with a handful of notable exceptions).

My passion for filmmaking was still as red-hot as ever, but I the cog I had become in the industry wheel was ground-down by too many poor experiences.  It was time for a change…

Thankfully, my whole world flipped in 2010.  I took the initiative to develop a totally new type of film project called Life Before Death.  It was completely different from anything I’d done before.  It was a global health, impact documentary feature film, shot in 11 countries including in Africa, North America, Australia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia.  It didn’t have a distributor or broadcaster attached throughout the entire production period. 

So we created 52 short films,  released them at a rate of one-a-week-for-a-year, and teamed up with global partners to release the film ourselves in over 40 countries and in 15 languages.  And the results were phenomenal.  The film premiered on World Cancer Day 2012 in over 300 locations worldwide.  It won awards, was picked up by TV, and attracted millions of views online.  But most importantly, it made change.  The stuff the film was about started making an impact in the real world.  A big impact. National policies were changed, new programs were established, better laws were passed, and a whole new hospital was even built on the back of the film’s impact in the market.

If you build it, they will come right?  Suddenly, I could do what I loved, making films, and I could help change the world at the same time.  I was hooked!

So I founded Moonshine Agency in 2010.  Then with my partner Sue Collins, we set out to create a production business that makes quality films and videos of all kinds that reach audiences, make an impact and help change the world. 

You can find out more about Moonshine Agency and how it’s changing the way we tell stories to make a better future at www.moonshine.agency

Since then, over the past decade, I’ve been involved in writing, filming, directing, producing and marketing over 1000 films.  These include award-winning feature films and TV programs, and a plethora of short-form content.  You can check out some of my favourites on the film & Tv and content pages.  But I love them all because each-and-every-one-of-them exists to make an impact.  These films are out there in the world getting millions of views, touching hearts and minds, and inspiring their viewers to take action.

Throughout this period Mike and Sue have spread their wings as filmtreprenuers and philanthropists, supporting causes they’re passionate about and linked to the important causes they’ve dedicated their careers to support.

In 2020, I’m super-excited about opening myself up to new opportunities and also finishing my currently slate of projects including campaign-led documentary features Conquering Cancer and Innovation High, the original streaming series Futurists.World which I’m also hosting, and my first narrative feature film The Lost Treasure of Zimram.

Thanks for taking the time to find out a little more about me.  I’d love to hear from you if you think we can team up to make art and change the world together.

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Call me on +61 3 9410 4345.

Or email me.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sue grew up in a household filled with Douglas Adams, Dr Who and Star Wars so it’s no wonder (or perhaps its a great wonder) she has a keen interest in the possibilities for the future. Although she isn’t fanatical about travelling with a towel and isn’t concerning herself with joining the rebels to fight intergalactic wars, she is deeply concerned that the current US President has just declared he’s going to create a galactic military.

The sense of impending doom and that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, the endless bad news stories and complete lack of forward thinking portrayed in the media inspired Sue to take on the challenge of helping others think bigger, longer term and consider what the future could be. Having produced many hours of content for her company Moonshine Agency, this show creates a great opportunity to put those skills to good use and help in a little way to move humanity forward with a positive outlook. At the very least this show might earn her a spot on the B arc!

If you’d like to know more about Sue’s work please click here
https://moonshine.agency/moonshine-agency-team/sue-collins-biography