Directing

Adrian Ortega

Biography

Adrian Ortega is an award-winning narrative and documentary filmmaker based in Melbourne. A first-generation Australian, from an Italian/Spanish migrant family, Adrian was raised in the inner-western suburbs by his single mother. His debut feature Cerulean Blue, which he wrote, directed, and produced, premiered to sold-out audiences at the 68th Melbourne International Film Festival in 2019 and went on to win the El Rey Award for Excellence in Film Directing at the Barcelona International Film Festival. In 2016, Adrian founded Proud Wing Films, a production company focussed on bringing new stories and new voices to Australian cinema. The second film produced under Proud Wing Films after Cerulean Blue was Senie Priti’s debut short film Alba, which received a Special Mention in the Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director at Flickerfest in 2021. Additionally, Adrian produced Aarushi Chowdhury’s debut short film, Clown, which premiered at SXSW Sydney and screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Darwin International Film Festival, Byron Bay Film Festival, and the Australian Women’s Film Festival, where Chowdhury received the “One To Watch” award presented by Leah Purcell. Westgate, Adrian’s second feature film as director, premiered at the 73rd Melbourne International Film Festival and SXSW Sydney in 2025, and has been acquired by Madman Entertainment for ANZ distribution. Set in Melbourne’s working-class west in 1999, the film follows an Italian-Australian single mother raising her son amid financial strain and unresolved trauma following the West Gate Bridge collapse. Drawing on Ortega’s own upbringing, Westgate is an intimate, culturally specific drama anchored by a powerful central performance. Adrian has a deep passion for telling stories about flawed individuals, especially ones from his life. Characters who have questionable motives and make even more questionable decisions in their search for salvation. He is inspired by European art cinema, especially those by Andrea Arnold, in how they portray these realistic three-dimensional characters that audiences can either connect to on a personal level or are fascinated by.