MICHELE TURNURE-SALLEO - Principal/Producer
Michele Turnure-Salleo’s recent Executive Producer/Co-Executive Producer credits include; BLUEBACK (TIFF 2022/Sundance 2023), FAREWELL AMOR (Sundance 2020), BEFORE YOU KNOW IT (Sundance 2019), THE SOUND OF SILENCE (Sundance 2019) and BUOYANCY (Berlinale 2019) as well as projects in post-production - SWEET MILK LAKE, packaging - BOSS CAT and development - THE WAYWARD WIND In 2019, BUOYANCY won Best Indie Film at The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards and was Australia’s submission for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars.
Alongside her role at Feracious Entertainment Turnure-Salleo works internationally as a script editor as well as mentoring at screenwriting labs such as Stowe Story Lab, Biennale College Cinema, Vic Screen’s Originate Lab and Attagirl Global Lab amongst others.
Previously, Turnure-Salleo was Development Producer at Storyd Group, an Australian based company supporting female storytellers by investing in internationally targeted feature films from Australian female creatives. Prior to that she designed and ran the Filmmaker 360 program at SFFS - San Francisco Film Society (now SFFilm) . During her eight year tenure at SFFS she provided more than $5 million in funding to develop and support exceptional fiction and non-fiction filmmakers including Nia DaCosta - LITTLE WOODS (Tribeca 2018), Andrew James – STREET FIGHTING MAN (Sundance 2017), Mohamed Diab - CLASH (Cannes 2016), Mike Day – THE ISLANDS AND THE WHALES (Hot Docs 2016), Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck – GOD BLESS THE CHILD (SXSW 2016), Jonas Carpignano - MEDITERRANEA (Cannes 2015), Chloe Zhao - SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME (Sundance/Cannes 2015), Jennifer Phang – ADVANTAGEOUS (Sundance 2015), Kris Swanberg Rey- UNEXPECTED (Sundance 2015), Anne Bogart & Holly Morris – The Babushkas of Chernobyl (LAFF 2015) Josef Wladkya - MANOS SUCIAS (Tribeca 2014), Sara Colangelo – LITTLE ACCIDENTS (Sundance 2014, Kat Candler - HELLION (Sundance 2014), Destin Daniel Cretton - SHORT TERM 12 (SXSW 2013), Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster- AN AMERICAN PROMISE (Sundance 2013), Ryan Coogler - FRUITVALE STATION (Sundance/Cannes 2013), Tommy Oliver – 1982 (TIFF 2013), Zachery Heinzerling – CUTIE AND THE BOXER (Sundance 2013), Shaul Schwarz- NARCO CULTURA (Sundance 2013), Benh Zeitlin - BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (Sundance/Cannes 2012) and Maryam Keshavarz- CIRCUMSTANCE (Sundance 2011)
Earlier in her career, Turnure-Salleo produced PSA's, documentary series and shorts for Bravo, CBC, The Knowledge Network and was Assistant Producer on the Academy Award-nominated documentary REGRET TO INFORM (Sundance 1999). Michele Turnure-Salleo holds a BFA (Film) from the University of New South Wales and a MFA (Film) from the University of British Columbia.
Feracious Entertainment was co-founded by Michele Turnure-Salleo and Paula Smith Arrigoni in 2017. It was launched with the F1 Film Fund (2017-2018) which provided equity financing to THE SOUND OF SILENCE, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT and BUOYANCY. A second fund, F2 provided equity financing to BLUEBACK and SWEET MILK LAKE. Feracious Entertainment Executive/Co-Executive Producers include/d Michele Turnure-Salleo (2017 to present) Alicia Brown (2017-2023), Jonathan Duffy (2017-2023) and Paula Smith Arrigoni (2017-2019).
Paula Smith Arrigoni
Paula Smith Arrigoni is the Executive Director of BAVC Media. In partnership with BAVC’s staff leadership team, and Board of Directors, Smith Arrigoni advances BAVC’s vision and strategy, partnerships, administration, and funding. Her background blends community development, nonprofit management and independent storytelling – from her urban planning education at UCLA, to the CDFI Fund at the US Treasury, Nonprofit Finance Fund, Youth Speaks, an independent film fund, BAVC Media, and several volunteer roles with film and media organizations and collectives, including The Roxie Theater, Watsonville Film Festival, BAMMS, and the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. She was part of National Art Strategies CEO program, co-founded the Bay Area Media Maker Summit, and is currently part of WESTAF’s Bay Area coalition. Smith Arrigoni has executive-produced several independent films and was the co-founder of Multi Storied Pictures, Feracious Entertainment, and Feracious One Film Fund.