Academy has signed CFP-E/shots Cannes Young Director of the Year 2001 Vikki Blanche to its roster.
Blanche, who nonetheless continues to be represented by Great Southern Films in Melbourne, has moved from her native Australia to London to expand her creative horizons.
Academy has gone to the unprecedented step of engineering Blanche's papers.
Nick Morris, joint managing director and executive producer of Academy, told shots.net that he was "delighted" with the signing, although it had taken a while to sort out her visa. "It's a huge decision for both parties for her to move to London," he said. "The fact that Academy facilitated the move is a measure of the depth of our belief in her as a director."
Morris said the move would be backed by an aggressive sales drive from all levels of the company.
"We take our signings seriously - signing a director is a big responsibility and we don't like failing," he continued.
Morris described Cottons Sympathy Pains, the wry film she made for Y&R Mattingly Melbourne, which appeared on shots showcase 63 as "an extremely mature piece of work for a first-time director".
Blanche was an actor for 20 years before turning to direction, even running her own acting school in Australia, and often casts real people to star in her work, then teaches them to act for a specific piece of film.
"In a world of wall-to-wall cliched performances, it is truth that cuts through, captures the audiences' attention and emotional involvement, and results in persuasive communication of the brand," Blanche states.
Evidence, if any was needed, of the fame, stardom and top-flight production company representation that could be yours should you enter this year's shots/CFP-E young directors award.
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