MAKE-UP EFFECTS GROUP FOUNDERS NICK NICOLAOU & PAUL KATTE NAMED AS 2023 ADAM LEE MEMORIAL AWARD HONOUREES
SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL | SYDNEY, BRISBANE, MELBOURNE TO RECOGNISE AUSTRALIA’S LEADING MAKE-UP EFFECTS INNOVATORS WITH TOP FESTIVAL HONOUR
Nick Nicolaou, left, and Paul Katte, of Make-Up Effects Group; with friend.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: NICK NICOLAOU and PAUL KATTE, the founders of the internationally-renowned Australian company MAKE-UP EFFECTS GROUP will receive The 2023 ADAM LEE MEMORIAL AWARD at this year’s SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL | SYDNEY, BRISBANE, MELBOURNE.
The Adam Lee Memorial honour is presented to individuals in the science fiction/fantasy community who have exhibited a dedication to their life’s work and served the genre and its fanbase with passion and positivity. It is named in honour of Melbourne film archivist and genre fan Adam Lee, friend of the festival and a dedicated family man who passed away suddenly in July 2021. Past honourees have been science fiction author Johnathan Strahan and comic-book artist Nicola Scott.
Since establishing Make-up Effects Group in 1987, Nicolaou and Katte have worked tirelessly in the service of the film, TV and live theatre industries, crafting award-winning creations in the fields of prosthetic make-up, animatronics, special make-up effects, creature effects, costumes, puppets and model making.
“Paul and I are deeply proud and honoured to be nominated for the 2023 Adam Lee Award, in recognition of our work and achievements over our 35-year film career as Make-up Effects Group,” says Nick. “Thus far, it has been an amazing journey, creating characters and makeup effects illusions for many local and international Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy films. Connecting with fans and genre audiences with our work and passion is a creatively rewarding experience. We are grateful to accept the Adam Lee Award, and to embody the ideals that it represents.”
The extraordinary body of work that MEG has contributed to includes Wrymwood 2: Apocalypse and Nekrotronic, for director Kiah Roache-Turner; Dr George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing and Mad Max Fury Road; Occupation Rainfall; Mortal Kombat; the TV series Cleverman; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales; The Wolverine; I, Frankenstein; Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit; family favourites Peter Rabbit, Babe, Charlotte’s Web and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe trilogy; the iconic Matrix trilogy; John Frankenheimer’s infamous The Island of Dr Moreau; and the cult heroics of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
“Nick, Paul and their amazing team at MEG take the wildest, weirdest visions of the genre artists who come to them and give those visions life,” says Festival Director Simon Foster. “Few of this country’s film sector artisans and craftspeople have impacted the viewing experience of genre film fans around the globe to the extent that Paul and Nick have. Their own creativity and the skills they employ in service of the greatest imaginations working in cinema today make them two of the most crucial collaborators a storyteller could be blessed with.”
Nick Nicolaou and Paul Katte will be present to accept the 2023 Adam Lee Memorial Award as part of the Opening Night of the 2023 Science Fiction Film Festival on August 24 at the EVENT Cinemas Macquarie complex. The presentation will be followed by the Australian Premiere screenings of Oscar-winning effects creator Tim Webber’s short film FLITE and Michael Lukk Litwak’s feature MOLLI & MAX IN THE FUTURE.
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE: https://bit.ly/43Hsv9u
MAKE-UP EFFECTS GROUP OFFICIAL WEBSITE HERE: http://megeffects.com.au/
THE 2023 SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL | SYDNEY, BRISBANE MELBOURNE
AUGUST 24-27 - EVENT Cinemas MACQUARIE (NSW) and EVENT Cinemas BRISBANE CITY MC (Qld)
AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 3 - Cinema NOVA, CARLTON (Vic)