Matt Vesely is a South Australian writer/director. He works with award winning creative collective Closer Productions. Often combining his love of science fiction with a sincere view of human relationships, Matt has directed a number of successful shorts and worked as a writer across TV & film. His most recent short, the science fiction comedy SYSTEM ERROR, was selected for Tribeca Film Festival and has since gathered 500k views on sci-fi social platform DUST.
His debut feature film MONOLITH, produced by Bettina Hamilton and written by Lucy Campbell, and featuring rising star Lily Sullivan (EVIL DEAD RISE) in the only on-screen role, made its international premiere at SXSW in March 2023 and went on to screen at many other festivals including Frightfest UK, BIFAN (South Korea) and Sitges (Spain). It was nominated for Australia’s largest festival prize at Cinefest Oz 2023, and Matt was nominated for best debut feature at the 2023 Australian Director’s Guild Awards. Recently, it was nominated for best indie film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTAs).
Matt’s previous short, MY BEST FRIEND IS STUCK ON THE CEILING, starring Tom Ward (PLEASE LIKE ME) and Erin James (THE LITTLE DEATH) and produced by Sophie Hyde, Christine Williams and Closer Productions, premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2015. It was nominated for the DENDY Award for Best Australian Short at the Sydney Film Festival, receiving a special mention for the Short Screenplay Award. The film also won Best Comedy and Best Screenplay at the 2016 SA Screen Awards, Best Screenplay at Heart of Gold Film Festival 2017, and had its international premiere at Palm Springs International ShortFest, before playing Melbourne, Flickerfest and St Kilda Film Festivals.
As a screenwriter, Matt has worked across Australia and become a skilled storyteller. Matt has worked in writers’ rooms with Closer Productions, Matchbox Pictures, Bunya Productions, the ABC and SBS. He was a part of the writing team for the ABC’s flagship iView series, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi WASTELANDER PANDA, and wrote an episode and was a staff writer across the entirety of Closer’s award-winning comic drama for ABC, FUCKING ADELAIDE. In 2014, Matt was the recipient of the Colin Thiele Scholarship for Creative Writing. In 2018, his feature script OVERHEATER – a dystopian romantic comedy – was shortlisted for the Australian Writer’s Guild’s John Hinde Award for best unproduced science fiction screenplay.
Matt works as Closer’s Head of Development under the mentorship of Sophie Hyde and Rebecca Summerton, and recently was the script producer for Closer’s 4 part series THE HUNTING (SBS), starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh. He script produces and writes for Closer’s acclaimed comedy AFTERTASTE (ABC), starring Erik Thomson and Rachel Griffiths.
Matt continues to lead Closer’s writers’ rooms and develop his own television projects, including a series based on Leo Quievreux’s graphic novel THE IMMERSION PROGRAM for director Garth Davis (LION) and See Saw Films.
He is represented by HLA Management in Australia and XYZ Management in the US.