Stephen Amis
b. November 21, 1966, Melbourne, Australia.

BIOGRAPHY:   Cutting his teeth on childhood super-8 sci-fi epics, Stephen is a graduate of the renowned, if not somewhat infamous, Swinburne Film and Television School in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating he established Revolution Pictures, and wrote, produced and directed his first micro-budget feature, the social-realist drama, See Jack Run (1991), which was sold to the Nine Network. Stephen's second micro-budget feature - the enviro-comedy, The Alive Tribe (1996) - was picked up internationally by Showtime.

Working with a larger budget this time, Stephen co-wrote, produced and directed the romantic comedy, The Real Thing (2000), starring Kate Fischer. The film was released to local Australian cinema screens and picked up internationally by Universal Pictures.

An amateur astronomer all his life, Stephen went on to produce and direct the 16mm short, Virus (2005)  - a steam-punk science fiction fantasy, set at the Melbourne Astronomical Observatory in 1888. The film featured state of the art CGI special effects, and starred Kerry Armstrong and John Stanton.

In addition to producing and directing, Stephen has acted as a cinematographer on more than forty short films, high-end television commercials, network documentaries and several innovative TV series, including Funky Squad, Frontline & A River Somewhere. He was the first cinematographer in Australia to incorporate elaborate CGI with moving live action for the Channel Seven series Oz Encounters.

A passionate genre aficionado, Stephen is currently developing and financing a slate of hard-and-fast genre films - from fantastical sci-fi, to macabre, edge of your seat thrillers. 

His most recent feature film is the sci-fi epic, The 25th Reich (2012) - a rollicking, WWII sci-fi adventure - full of time-travel, duplicitous Nazi robots, faulty spaceships and giant mega-fauna ...  The movie is a homage to Sam Fuller, WWII, sci-fi movies and classic creature-features.

CRITICAL OVERVIEW:   There's humanism in Stephen Amis' work which is rare in Australian cinema.

	The Real Thing

From his early no-budget features to more recent, funded ventures, Amis imbues his story-lines with issues-based subtext and a sensibility which by-passes the intellect and heads straight for the heart.

Such themes as: overcoming problems of illiteracy; awareness of environmental destruction; the need to shun cultural imperialism; and the right for a woman's voice to be heard - are themes which resonate with contemporary universal relevance.

Drama, comedy and action sit comfortably alongside each other to present poignant and entertaining viewing.

Angelo Salamanca, March 2005

FILMOGRAPHY:

Burning Daylight (1986, 40 mins, Super 8)
Writer / Producer / Director

Full Circle (1987, 16 mins, video)
Writer / Producer / Director

Façade (1988, 20 mins, 16mm)
Writer / Producer / Director

Burning Daylight (1989, 22 mins, 16mm)
Writer / Producer / Director

See Jack Run (1991, 93 mins, col, 16mm)
Co-Writer / Producer / Director

The Alive Tribe (1996, 97 mins, col, Super 16mm)
Co-Writer / Producer / Director

The Real Thing (2000, 105 mins, col, 35mm)
Co-Writer / Producer / Director
website

Virus (2005, 15 mins, Super 16mm)
Co-Writer / Co-Producer / Director

The 25th Reich (2012, 90 mins, RED 4K)
Writer / Producer / Director
website

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY:

	directing The Real Thing

"On Location" by Matt Preston, Encore; March 27-April 9, 1995; pp 17-19

"Alive Tribe" by Michael Kitson, Cinema Papers; July 23, 1997; pp 22-23

"Something Amis" by Stephen McKenzie, Melbourne Weekly; Feb 4-10, 2001; pp 10-11

"What Kate did next" by Adam Zwar, Herald Sun; Jan 28, 2001; pp 4-6 & 27

"Franklin protests destined for film" by Sue Bailey, The Mercury; Dec 13, 2002 p 3

The 25th Reich Website

Contact Stephen Amis

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