There have been a number of significant changes and developments at Virgo Productions this past year. We moved into the Creative Industries Precinct on the QUT campus at Kelvin Grove and are part of the Creative Industries Enterprise Centre. Virgo Productions was successful in gaining support from the Screen Queensland Development Attachment program. Tara Wardrop is now employed under this program as Associate Producer and will initiate her own projects as lead producer. Virgo has several new projects in development and THE BURNING SEASON continues to roll out and gain attention across the globe. Cathy has also completed her PhD at QUT examining screen and creative industries in regional areas with a specific focus on the Northern Rivers region on NSW. Some highlights from this year include:
San Francisco: Virgo Productions was invited to attend the Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) held in San Francisco in October with our new project An ACTION MOVIE 3D, which we are developing in collaboration with Microsoft.
Queensland Trade Mission, Make It Queensland: Cathy Henkel was invited to take part in Screen Queensland’s international trade mission to demonstrate the depth and diversity of talent within the factual production sector in Queensland. The mission visited 6 cities in 3 weeks in October.
Aurora script workshop: Cathy Henkel and Trish Lake attending the prestigious Screen NSW Aurora script workshops in Sydney during November. The latest draft of the feature drama in development, DANCE FOR ME had a full script read through and was very well received.
Beijing: Cathy Henkel has been invited to Beijing for IDOCS 2010 in December this year. She will screen THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER’S FACE and THE BURNING SEASON and run a professional masterclass.
Australian Directors Guild Award Nominations: Cathy Henkel was nominated for two ADG awards – Best Documentary Feature and the GRASS Award
SHOW ME THE MAGIC: Development work continues on the feature documentary SHOW ME THE MAGIC, produced by Virgo Productions and Freshwater Pictures and directed by Cathy Henkel. This multiplatform project tells the story of cinematographer Don McAlpine and his 50 films.
THE BURNING SEASON continues: Virgo Productions has rolled out a series of screenings and workshops in schools in regional NSW called BE THE CHANGE. The project is funded by the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and supported by Toyota who supplied the project with a Hybrid Camry. A half hour documentary is currently in post-production. The Burning Season has also received two major US digital distribution offers. More about these in our next update.
AN ACTION MOVIE 3D: Development is taking place at a cracking pace on this project, which now has support from National Geographic, Microsoft, TakingItGlobal, Willie Smits, Orangutan Outreach – just to name a few. A 6 part television series is also in development.