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Last updated on Tuesday, February 27, 2018
(FISHERS) - Two juniors from Fishers High School in Fishers, are the winners of the 2018 Project Pigasus, a statewide screenwriting competition for students in grades 9-12 presented by Pigasus Horizons, Inc. in collaboration with Bloomington.-based film company Pigasus Pictures.
Co-writers Whitney Roberts and Cynthia Foulke were unveiled as the 2018 winners for their screenplay "As We Begin" during a surprise announcement with Pigasus Pictures at Fishers High School on Monday, February 26.
"As We Begin," set in Fishers, Ind., follows the story of 17-year-old Jordan Smith and her best friend, 18-year-old Dakota Hawkins, through the navigation of family-related issues, preparation for college and angst about the future. The film will be fully produced by a professional film crew and area students will be invited to apprentice on set, learning every aspect of professional filmmaking. The film will be submitted for consideration to major film festivals nationwide, and screened in select theaters and distributed online.
"We chose this screenplay because it has a compelling story and real heart," said Pigasus Pictures co-founder and COO John Armstrong. "It addresses the fears that high school students have as they begin to think about life after school and the effect it will have on their relationships. The humor of dialogue was also very real and natural, which is hard to generate. It was also apparent in the pitch video that these girls had a great friendship and would be really fun to work with."
"The purpose of Project Pigasus is to find those students who were just like us," said Pigasus Pictures CEO and co-founder Zachary Spicer. "Growing up in Indiana, you often feel so far removed from the film industry. We want to show young people that you don't have to be from a coast, or move to one, to be able to work in this field. And, by producing this short film entirely in-state, our hope is that Project Pigasus will inspire young Hoosier filmmakers, provide opportunities for in-state talent, and generate greater exposure for Indiana's growing film industry."
The 2017 Project Pigasus winner was "Through the Window," written by Kira Daniels of Southwestern High School in Madison, Ind. The film can be viewed at pigasuspictures.com.
For more information, visit projectpigasus.org.
About Pigasus Pictures
Owned and operated by Indiana natives and Indiana University alumni Zachary Spicer and John Armstrong, Pigasus Pictures has created an Indiana-centric production infrastructure and strong working relationships with local business, community and university entities while simultaneously engaging the key industry influencers required to bring a film to market. Following the widespread success of Pigasus Pictures' first feature film "The Good Catholic" featuring Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapon," "The Color Purple") and John C. McGinley ("Scrubs," "The Rock"), filmed and edited entirely in Bloomington and named Best Feature Film at the 2017 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the film company's forthcoming drama "Ms. White Light" will be the first in a slate of six projects created under a private equity model developed by Pigasus. "Ms. White Light" will feature John Ortiz ("Fast & Furious," "Silver Linings Playbook") and Tony Award winner Judith Light ("Transparent," "Who's the Boss?"). The remaining five projects of the film fund initiative have been secured, including four feature films and two television pilots planned for production in 2018 and 2019. All projects are slated for initial release by 2021. Pigasus Pictures hires a majority of its crew locally, creates internship opportunities with universities (frequently hiring from its intern pool), and works with Indiana high school students on short films.
For more information, visit PigasusPictures.com.
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