Kent Smith (producer)

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Kent Smith
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1972-

Kent Smith is an Australian cinematographer and film producer, and founding partner of the Kojo group of companies.

Contents

Career

Smith began his career as a cinematographer in Australian television with Seven Network Australia in 1972. [1] [ better source needed ]

After more than a decade working in network television in Victoria and South Australia, where he won many national and international awards, Smith established his own Adelaide-based production company, Kent Smith Productions, in 1984. [1] [ better source needed ]

He spent seven years working with some of Australia's largest corporate clients, then in 1991 he expanded the business to form the Kojo Group, [2] which he co-founded with cinematographer, director, and writer John Chataway (who died in 2010). [3]

In 2005, Smith took the Kojo Group into feature film production, starting with the film 2:37 , [4] which was an Official Selection at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Two Kojo-produced films were released in 2009: Closed for Winter and Beautiful , both premiering at the Adelaide Film Festival before their cinema releases. [5] The 2010 film The Tree was also an Official Selection and the closing film at 2010 Cannes Film Festival. [6]

As of March 2013, Smith was a member of the Kojo board. [7] In June 2013, Kojo announced a multi-million dollar investment deal with American company Main Street Films, to collaborate on an upcoming feature film that would be a co-production between Kojo and South Australian writer/director Murali K. Thalluri from M2E, with South African company Enigma Pictures as the co-producer. The film, titled One, was described as "a racially fuelled post-apocalyptic adventure as seen through the eyes of a 26-year old girl", and was set to be filmed in South Africa and produced by Smith. [8] [9] Main Street announced cast members at Cannes Film Festival in 2014, [10] but in 2019 it was reported as never being made. [11] As of November 2025, One is still listed on IMDb as "in development". [12]

In February 2019 US company Wonderfilm announced a new film by Thalluri titled Run, to be produced by Wonderfilm along with Smith at Kojo and Thalluri. [11]

Memberships and recognition

Smith became an accredited member of the Australian Cinematographers Society on 14 September 2001. [13]

KOJO establshed the Smithy Award in honour of Smith, to celebrated "the quiet achievers... The unsung hero who is creating magic on a daily basis without the public recognition they truly deserve". The award is presented to a staff member each year. [14] [15]

Filmography

Smith's film producing credits include:

Feature filmsYearDirector(s)
2:37 (Official selection Cannes)2006 Murali K. Thalluri
Beautiful 2009Dean O'Flaherty
Closed for Winter 2009 James Bogle
The Tree (Official selection Cannes)2010Julie Bertuccelli
Sons & Mothers2013Christopher Houghton
The Pack [16] [17] 2015Nick Robertson
Short filmsYearDirector(s)
Frames2004Mat King
Spike Up (AFI Best Short Fiction Film)2007 Anthony Maras

See also

References

  1. 1 2 LinkedIn Archived 12 March 2015 at archive.today Kent Smith. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Swift, Brendan (11 July 2011). "Kojo Group integrates business divisions, appoints Barbara Devlin". IF Magazine . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "SA media identity loses his battle". adelaidenow.com.au . 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  4. ↑ George, Sandy (27 October 2005). "Australia's Kojo Group moves into film production". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. ↑ George, Sandy (20 March 2009). "Kent Smith: Australia's newest mini-mogul". Screen Daily . Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "From 15 to 26 may 2013". Cannes Film Festival . 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "KOJO appoints two new directors to its board". IF Magazine. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Noble, Kelly (25 June 2013). "Multi-million dollar U.S. investment deal for KOJO". Glam Adelaide. Archived from the original on 20 March 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (30 May 2013). "Main Street Names Harrison Kordestani Prexy, Finances 'One'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Tiley, David (19 May 2014). "Kojo: inches forward on breakout feature project with controversial director". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. 1 2 Kornits, Dov (18 February 2019). "Murali Thalluri to finally follow up 2:37". FilmInk. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "One". IMDb. Archived from the original on 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "ACS accredited member list". Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS). 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "2022/23 BlueSky Award Winner Announced". KOJO. 8 April 2024. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  15. ↑ KOJO (30 May 2025). "The Smithy Award was created..." Facebook. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  16. ↑ South Australian Film Corporation Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Cast announced for South Australian horror/thriller The Pack. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  17. ↑ FilmInk Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine ‘The Pack’ To Shoot In South Australia. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
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