Kate Whitbread - Producer
Kate Whitbread is a notably prolific producer and director of feature films, television series, television commercials, live theatre and events. Her company KWFilms develops and produces content with a focus on female audiences worldwide, and Kate has brought her formidable talent to a wide range of screen and theatrical successes. Some of Kate’s feature film credits include The Spirit of the Game (distributed by Samuel Goldwyn and starring Kevin Sorbo), the AFI and IF award winning feature The Caterpillar Wish (Palace Films), Surviving Georgia (Shane Jacobson, Holly Valance and Pia Miranda), Deeper than Blue (Colin Friels), and the recently released psychological thriller The Unlit (screenplay by Daren Markey) which she produced and directed. Kate is currently developing features The Wolf of Rostov by George Viscas and Maxwell by Sandra Sciberras and, for television, Before Summer, an eight-part thriller, and Girls on the Street, the moving two-part story of famed Australian artist Joy Hester. For the stage Kate co-produced 8 The Play at Her Majesty's, used an all-women cast for 12 Angry Men, and brought numerous other pieces to life including Sexercise The Musical, The Life of Sinead O'Connor, After Dinner, and Monsters for the Victorian Arts Centre. Kate is a member of Women in Film and TV Victoria and an advocate for White Ribbon Australia. Kate works as the Industry Liaison Officer for Melbourne's renowned indie fest the Lorne Film Festival where she initiated the Screenwriters competition to encourage new writers.
Darren Markey - Writer/ Producer
A creative professional, Darren Markey has been active in theatre and film since 1992. His work has encompassed acting, writing, directing and producing for theatre in Melbourne, Lorne and Geelong, Victoria, and Far North Queensland - where he lived and worked with renowned Australian actress Diane Cilento and Academy Award nominee Tony Shaffer (SLEUTH). Since 2002 - following a trip to Los Angeles - Darren has turned his focus to his first love, film. In 2013 Darren founded LORNE FILM - a film entity with a focus on supporting and creating high quality independent Australian film.
Darren’s ongoing ambition is to write and produce quality Australian film - with an emphasis on commercially viable, sophisticated, entertaining and original storytelling that will reach and touch a global audience.
Darren's first feature film (as screenwriter) THE UNLIT - was released in 2020 and has recently been acquired for 'rest of world' sales by HIGH OCTANE PICTURES.
In late 2019 Darren began development work on THE PLOVER'S CRY - a romance/thriller set between Iceland's remote north-west and the Australian outback.
ANGUS WATTS - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Angus is an award-winning Australian screenwriter, producer and radiologist.
He wrote and produced multi-award winning outback crime-thriller feature 'LOCUSTS', r It won the Australian Cinematographers Society 2020 Award of Distinction, was nominated Best Score at the 2019 ARIA Awards and nominated for 4 OzFlix Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Independent Film.
Angus's black comedy TV series treatment 'Bleach' was shortlisted in the 2020 Stan & Screen Queensland Production Development Program.