Press release from TM publicity
Erin White, one of Australia’s hottest young directing talents, has officially joined Verve Films as a commercials director.
Verve Films co founders Carolyn Starkey and Colin Skyba, are delighted to represent the four-time AFI nominee and winner of IF, Flickerfest and Dendy Awards.
Chosen to direct the Flickerfest 2010 TVC, White also directed the recent Comedy Channel pilot I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better. Her short films have screened around the world at prestigious festivals such as Sundance, Aspen, Munich, Palm Springs, Sydney and Melbourne.
“Erin is an outstanding talent. Colin and I first encountered Erin’s work when we saw a screening of her short film fOUR. We were completely blown away. The film is thoroughly entertaining and displays highly sophisticated art direction, visual effects and performance,” says Starkey.
“We saw that same assured hand with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better, which is a fantastic example of Erin’s comedic direction. When you are delivered a brilliantly funny script, the key is not to overcook the direction – and Erin has achieved this in spades. A director needs to “get” the humour and focus on creating a pathway for the actors to deliver the jokes.
“But Erin isn’t just a comedy director – her dramatic work shows an empathetic understanding of middle Australia and her skills in describing it on screen will be great to see in advertising. She really does have tremendous range as a director.”
Skyba adds: “In another of her films, the short drama 62 Sleeps, Erin worked with little kids with no screen experience. It’s a powerful emotional experience and its truthful evocation of family life always brings tears into the eyes of any who see it, particularly mums and dads. Erin has created a compelling portrait of relationships within families, without the film being either miserable or sentimental.”
Making the move into TVCs is something White has wanted to do for some time: “With Verve I feel like I’ve found a great home. Not only is it a brilliant boutique production company but their standard of work is really high and they have a lot of integrity as both business people and creators. It feels like the right fit and I’m really looking forward to building my reel with Carolyn and Colin as my mentors.”
As well as winning the Flickerfest Audience Award, Erin’s short film fOUR was selected to screen at the G’day USA RADAR Showcase in Los Angeles. Dugong screened to acclaim at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, a Festival renowned for spotting new international talent.
Verve Films is a leading Australian television commercials production company, established in 2001 by award winning television commercials director/producer team Colin Skyba and Carolyn Starkey. Erin White’s producing partner will be Carolyn Starkey and Erin will be mentored in the advertising process by accomplished director Colin Skyba.
To view clips from Erin White’s award-winning work including fOUR, Dugong, 62 Sleeps and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better, go to www.vervefilms.com.au or call Erin’s producer Carolyn Starkey to see her work on + 61 2 9977 7600.