I’m thrilled to officially welcome Michael Turner to FENECH – The Jeff Fenech Story as our Production Designer — a world-class creative whose eye for detail, scale, and cinematic authenticity is exactly what this film deserves.

Michael is one of those rare artists who can build a world that feels lived-in, not decorated. His work has a grounded realism when it needs to be intimate, and a bold, operatic sense of spectacle when it’s time to go big. For a story like Jeff’s — where the grit of suburban gyms collides with the bright lights and pressure-cooker glamour of world championship boxing — that range is everything.

From Architecture to Cinema: A Designer Who Thinks in Worlds

Michael began his career with a Bachelor of Architecture, working with respected architectural practices in Australia before crossing into film to pursue his passion for screen architecture and production design. That architectural foundation matters — because it means he doesn’t just “dress” sets; he designs environments with logic, texture, function, and history. You feel it in the spaces. You believe the characters belong there.

The Gold Standard: I AM WOMAN and Award Recognition

If you’ve seen I AM WOMAN — the Helen Reddy story — you’ll know just how confidently the film captures the era without ever feeling artificial. Michael’s period work is meticulous, elegant, and emotionally tuned to the character’s journey.

That craft was recognised with AACTA Award nominations for Best Production Design for I AM WOMAN (Michael Turner and Richie Dehne).
And the praise wasn’t limited to the local industry — Architectural Digest highlighted the film’s design and the precision of its period environments, pointing to the way the sets reflect Helen Reddy’s rise and the shifting tones of her life.

Michael’s own portfolio notes that The New York Times called the film’s “1960s–80s production design” impeccable — the kind of compliment that lands differently when it comes from a publication that knows how hard it is to recreate truth on screen.

Hollywood Scale Experience

What makes Michael such a powerful addition to FENECH is that he brings big-budget Hollywood experience to our team — not as an outsider looking in, but as someone who has helped deliver the visual standard required on major studio productions.

His credits span an extraordinary range of modern cinema, including work in the art department on global-scale films such as:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• The Wolverine
• Dracula Untold
• Gods of Egypt
• The Matrix Reloaded / Revolutions
• Moulin Rouge! and Anna and the King (both celebrated for their art direction achievements)

And of course, he was part of the art department on The Great Gatsby, a film honoured with the Academy Award for Best Production Design — a benchmark example of what it looks like when production design becomes a character in the story.

Craft Meets Combat: Why Michael Is Perfect for FENECH

FENECH is a film that has to feel authentic in every frame — because Jeff’s story is authentic. The production design needs to carry the sweat, the sacrifice, the grit, the family, the culture, and the era — while also delivering the sheer scale of world-stage boxing.

Michael understands how to do both:

• The intimacy of training spaces: small rooms, harsh lighting, worn equipment — places where greatness is forged quietly.
• The public spectacle: arenas, media pressure, bright lights, backstage corridors, world-title stakes.
• The time-and-place truth: Australia in Jeff’s early rise, and the international world he stepped into as he became “The Marrickville Mauler.”

Michael also sees production design as a deeply collaborative artform, built around strong processes and clear communication — exactly the kind of leadership that keeps a film moving forward confidently.

Welcome to the Team

Bringing Michael Turner onto this film is a major step forward. It strengthens the creative spine of FENECH and raises the bar for what we’re building — visually, emotionally, and cinematically.

Michael, welcome to the family. Let’s honour Jeff properly — and build something unforgettable.