Brisbane’s Virgo Productions and Singapore’s Silver Media are teaming up to produce 3D Australian action/adventure documentary, The Rise of the Eco-Warriors, with the possibility of further collaboration.
The partnership, devised to secure wide distribution in the Asia-Pacific region, will see Virgo Productions open an office in Singapore to pool resources and provide a base for future endeavours.
“There is a strong synergy between the two companies in terms of goals and beliefs, and the collaboration will help us to realise our full ambitions for the film,” Cathy Henkel of Virgo Productions said in a media release.
The doco follows 15 young ‘Eco-Warriors’ from around the world as they spend 100 days in the jungle in Borneo in South East Asia working with the local Dayak people and renowned Indonesia-based scientist Dr Willie Smits to help stop deforestation and save endangered Orangutans.
The Eco-Warriors are part of the global DeforestACTION project involving millions of young people connected through Microsoft’s “Partners in Learning” and TakingITGlobal, a not-for-profit online community of youth.
The project will also encompass online gaming, webisodes and social media.
The film’s producers are currently in discussions with brand sponsors and have secured private investment in Australia and Singapore. According to Henkel, they still need 20 per cent of the budget, which will be drawn from crowdfunding, private donors and the philanthropy sector.
Yesterday, the producers internationally launched eco-crowdfunding website The Green Crowd (www.thegreencrowd.com), along with their new funding campaign, Project Borneo 3D: The Rise of the Eco-Warriors. The website intends to raise $300,000 for the film, as well as provide a fan base for marketing and promotion in 2012.
From January next year, “green” or sustainable projects will be able to pitch to the website to raise funds for no equity.
Filming of The Rise of the Eco-Warriors began in September, 2011 and will continue between March and June, 2012. The film is scheduled for release in March, 2013.