BRISBANE-based start-up Creatively Squared won this year's Creative³ Pitch competition – claiming Australia’s Creative Business Cup – presented at the opening of the recent Creative³ Conference.

Founders Ruth Stephensen and Scott Thomas took out the top prize for their custom visual digital marketing platform that pairs creatives with brands looking for more engaging content.

Hosted by QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA), Creatively Squared will now go on to represent Australia as part of the Creative Business Cup challenge in Denmark in November, as well as take part in the Virgin StartUp accelerator program, StepUp. 

“We’re so excited to have won the Creative³ Pitch today,” Creatively Squared co-founder and chief creative officer, Ruth Stephensen said.

“We’ve built our platform to be global from day one, so to be able to share our vision on the world stage at the Creative Business Cup is a great opportunity for us.

“We’re so thankful that CEA gives creative businesses like us the opportunity to challenge ourselves and present our businesses at this level. It’s really positive to see the creative industries in Australia continue to diversify and grow.” 

The Creative³ Pitch breakfast kicked off the beginning of the Creative³ Conference at the Brisbane Convention Centre on September 22.

Creative³ is Australia’s only conference for creative tech start-ups. The conference gives start-up founders the opportunity to hear from international and national speakers, as well as experts within the industry, including SOSV managing director William Bao Bean and Annie Parker from Fishburners and Code Club Australia. 

“We’re really pleased with the calibre of talent presenting at the Creative³ Pitch this morning,” QUT Creative Enterprise Australia acting CEO Mark Gustowski.

“Starting a company from scratch and working it to scale is challenge enough in itself, let alone presenting that company to a room full of potential investors and experts in your industry.

“We’re really proud to be able to offer up Creatively Squared as the Australian representative for the Creative Business Cup, and look forward to being able to follow their growth in the years to come.”

Other finalists for the Creative³ Conference were start-ups Pluss, Postie and Folktale.  

ends

THE ONLY plus-size label to feature on the runway at the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Brisbane, Platinum Plus, is poised for a paradigm shift in how Australian fashion caters to women of all body types.

The label’s founder and designer, Angela Rose has been accustomed to breaking boundaries from a young age.

From struggling to fit clothes for her age and gender in a small, rural town, to overcoming immense personal battles including the loss of both her father and her marriage, Ms Rose turned her misery into perseverance and gained the courage to realise her dreams, forging Platinum Plus into a creative business reality. 

Inspired by a love for fashion, and a desire to make women of all sizes feel beautiful, she created a range of samples for herself and friends. They were a resounding hit – and Platinum Plus was born.

Countless hours, endless late nights and unexpected costs later, Ms Rose’s first ever line, the 2017 Spring/Summer collection, was picked up by the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in late August.

It was also featured at the Sunshine Coast Women’s Lifestyle Expo in early September.

Platinum Plus will exhibit at RAW Brisbane on November 16 and Ultimate Women’s Weekend Lifestyle and Wellbeing Expo in 2018.

For Angela Rose, her line represents everything that ‘traditional’ plus size clothing does not – bright colours, daring cuts and, most importantly, personality.

“Much of the line was made using dreamy Ankara fabric, which we use to keep women comfortable throughout the day and night,” Ms Rose said. “The 100 percent cotton fabric is tightly woven and hugs and drapes every womanly curve.”

The collection, which includes dresses, skirts, tops, shorts and pants, features figure-flattering waistlines which make the garments completely wearable in all situations, she said, “from the boardroom to the bar and everywhere in between”.

“Whether it’s a job interview or date night, Platinum Plus has women feeling fabulous and perfectly themselves,” Ms Rose said.

Platinum Plus’ Spring/Summer line is available in sizes 14-28, and by request in sizes 8-12.

Platinum Plus is using the fashion events for promotion and a range of online stores for distribution, as well as its own website.

 https://platinumplus.net.au/

ends

SCREEN Australia has announced a new Australian-Chinese co-production feature At Last, making it the eighth official co-production to receive approval.

The announcement was made at a screen industry networking event in Beijing recently, in partnership with Ausfilm and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The event was designed to further energise Australian-Chinese working relationships and identify co-production opportunities with Chinese producers and production companies. 

In attendance were Ausfilm members including Screen NSW, Film Victoria, Screen Queensland, Screenwest, City of Gold Coast, Soundfirm, Spectrum Films, Show Group, Stage & Screen and The Appointment Group.

Stand-alone private enterprises were also present, including production house Sydney Films which intends to identify 20 existing or potential co-production films with a total investment budget of A$400 million (¥2 billion*).

Screen Australia manages the official co-production program on behalf of the Australian Federal Government.

“We have seen increased interest in Australian-Chinese co-productions with At Last being the fourth feature announced since late 2015,” Screen Australia’s head of business and audience, Richard Harris said.

“This upswing in activity is the result of seven years of engagement with the Chinese screen industry and the sustained support of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in China.

“China is currently the world’s second-largest movie-going market and co-productions are an essential growth stream for the Australian industry, this is over and above the existing appetite for Chinese television and film productions being shot in Australia.”

Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards said, “We have been building the Australia China Film Industry Exchange in partnership with Screen Australia and the Australian Embassy in Beijing for the last seven years. And more recently Ausfilm and its members, with the support of the Embassy have brought an annual delegation of Chinese filmmakers to Australia to see the locations; the state-of-the-art facilities, studios and services; and to meet with Australia’s world renowned technicians, crew and talent - essentially to experience all that Australia has to offer.

“Bleeding Steel, which filmed in Sydney and starring Jackie Chan, is one such outcome of this ongoing relationship.”

The latest co-production At Last is the story of a couple from Beijing who find themselves caught in a complex art heist while on holiday in Australia. The feature will be written and directed by Yiwei Liu and produced by Jackie Jiao, Todd Fellman, Charles Fan and Vanessa Wu, from China's Monumental Films, Australia’s Roadman Films and Story Bridge Films.

Casting is currently underway with production expected to commence in Australia from mid-July. Financing will be provided by Orient Image Entertainment, Gravity Films, Shineland Media, China Lion and Screen Queensland. 

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said At Last would shoot in Queensland, providing approximately 200 jobs and injecting $10.8 million into the local economy.

“At Last has come to Queensland as a direct result of the Queensland Government’s $30 million screen industry funding injection over four years,” Ms Vieira said.

“The film will showcase a range of Queensland locations and will be the setting for this film which has the potential to grow tourism from China into our state,” Ms Vieira said. “Queensland producers have been working extensively to build relationships with Chinese producers and it is fantastic to see another official co-production in our State.”

At Last is the eighth Australian-Chinese co-production announced since the official treaty was put in place in 2008, and joins a growing list which includes Guardians of the Tomb starring Li Bingbing from writer/director Kimble Rendall (Bait 3D) currently in post-production; and two additional features My Extraordinary Wedding and Tying the Knot which are yet to commence production.

A further feature Dog Fight wrapped production last year, with 33 Postcards, The Dragon Pearl and Children of the Silk Road also produced to date.

Beyond co-productions, several Australian films have enjoyed Chinese box office success, most recently Hacksaw Ridge which grossed A$80 million (¥419 million) and was granted an extended theatrical release, rare for foreign films usually limited to a 30-day run.

This follows the success of cult hit Bait 3D which grossed A$24.4 million (¥127 million).

Australian films are also regularly selected for Chinese film festivals, including The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Tiantan Award at the 2017 Beijing International Film Festival in April.

In addition there are a growing number of Chinese productions being filmed in Australia, including Bleeding Steel starring Jackie Chan, which was the largest budget Chinese production ever to shoot in Australia and for which a new teaser was unveiled at the Beijing event.

The upcoming production Butterflies Across the Sea will be one of the biggest budget Chinese television series to ever have been filmed outside of China and joins Speed which recently wrapped filming in South Australia.

The number of Chinese films released in Australian cinemas is also increasing. There were  30 releases in 2015 compared to 13 releases in 2014. The 2016 hit The Mermaid  achieved A$1.3 Million (¥6.7 million) at the Australian box office.

Australia’s Ambassador to China Jan Adams  said, “The Australian Embassy proudly supports Screen Australia, Ausfilm and the Australian screen industry. Our work together delivers public diplomacy and economic diplomacy benefits by highlighting Australian creative excellence, deepening cultural understanding and delivering business opportunities in a fast growing market. 2017 is the Australia China Year of Tourism and marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations. It is a great time to be making co-productions.” 

www.screeenaustralia.gov.au

ends

THE ABC – in partnership with Hoodlum Entertainment, ABC Studios International and Screen Queensland – will film a major new television drama series, Harrow, in Brisbane and South east Queensland later this year and will be seen by audiences across the globe.

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira congratulated Brisbane-based production house Hoodlum on “the development of another successful series”.

“This is a tribute to the talents of Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning Hoodlum, which continues to build an international reputation for creating groundbreaking film and television,” Ms Vieira said.              

“The development and filming of Harrow in Queensland is a great coup for our state and will drive Queensland’s ongoing momentum for making and attracting quality local and international productions.”

The unorthodox hero of the series, Dr Daniel Harrow is no ordinary forensic pathologist. Dr Harrow’s total disregard for authority and his unfailing empathy for the dead help him solve even the most bizarre of cases. He is driven to give victims a voice, and will bend every rule to get to the truth of what happened to them. But when a terrible secret from his own past threatens his family, his career, and himself, Dr Harrow needs all his wit, wile, and forensic genius not to solve a crime, but to keep it buried.

ABC head of scripted production, Sally Riley described Harrow as “Darkly funny, totally irreverent, and always surprising – Harrow is an addictive new crime show”.

“The ABC is thrilled to be working with the award-winning team at Hoodlum to bring the complex and compelling Harrow to life,” Ms Riley said.

“Trying to unravel the mystery and understand just what makes Harrow tick will keep audiences guessing right to the end of this exciting new drama series.”

ABC Studios International managing director for international content and talent, Keli Lee said,  “As our first foray into series production, we’re so excited to produce Harrow for worldwide distribution. A compelling story and great characters resonate all over the world.” 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “The Queensland Government investment in the home-grown thriller Harrow, through Screen Queensland, will deliver job opportunities and skills development for the local screen industry, with broader economic benefits for Queensland.

“The filming of the series will result in direct expenditure of more than $15 million into Queensland jobs, goods and services … and will also showcase Queensland locations globally, opening the doors to tourists considering where next to visit.”

Filming for Harrow is due to begin in August.

www.abc.net.au/tv

ends