Pre-production begins on new homeless documentary
© 2012 James W. Headrick
Telling stories has been a long-standing passion for me, and the use of film has created incredible opportunities in my life. With the fall release of “Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes,” and several career defining moments, I’ve been working on plans for a new documentary project with a humanitarian focus. Last summer while driving frequently through the downtown and North Lamar areas of Austin, I continuously found myself intrigued with the lives of the homeless individuals living on the streets. I found myself considering questions such as: How do they survive? What situation caused them to become homeless? How do they obtain basic necessities for living? It becomes routine to just pass them by, avoid eye contact while sitting at a light, and make assumptions about why they are homeless. In effect we dehumanize these individuals. I began doing a little research and talking to a few people who were involved with homeless aid, and started realizing how under-served these people are. Individuals who carry the title of “homeless” include not just those you might see on the streets, but also people living in their cars, hotels, and even in remote areas.
I am excited to announce Empty Net Media’s next documentary project with the working title, “Overlooked”. The purpose of this film is to explore the stories of the homeless, give insight into the lives of these individuals, and ultimately provide a means to change public perception on the topic.
This project is currently in pre-production and production will likely start this summer. Please feel free to contact me for more information on the project.
-James Headrick
Creative Director & Owner
Empty Net Media is a full-service video and film production company in Austin, TX. We aim to produce and distribute the highest quality and most innovative media available in Austin. Our team prides itself in being an Austin company consisting of artists, visionaries, and professionals. The production industry has seen great changes in style, quality, and equipment over the past few years, and we consider ourselves at the cutting edge with our high quality, imaginative, and effective style. Our most recent full-length project, titled “Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes” premiered in September 2012 and was attended by more than four-hundred viewers and raised several thousand dollars to support relief efforts for the Bastrop wildfire victims.
Screening Raises $1364 for Bastrop Fire Relief
“Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes” screened at the brand new Moviehouse and Eatery in Austin on November 5th, 2012, raising funds to support fire relief efforts.
Bastrop Documentary Featured in CTX Magazine
Empty Net Media has been working on a feature length documentary for the past several months. The film is quickly coming together and we will be premiering it in Bastrop and online on September 3rd. The film concept was developed while working on a short documentary project for Concordia University Texas in December of 2011. Concordia has been a great partner and recently featured our project in their magazine, which is available on the Apple App Store
Bastrop Wildfire Documentary
View a preview of our documentary project on KXAN’s website!
“Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes” premiered in Bastrop, TX at the Bastrop Opera House on September 3rd, 2012. We were extremely pleased with the turnout, as we sold out the screening almost an hour before the advertised start time, and ended up running a second showing. The response was equally exciting as attendees told us their own stories and talked about how the film related to their own life.
Empty Net Media produced the feature-length documentary film on the 2011 Labor Day Wildfires which devastated the community of Bastrop County, Texas.
The 2011 Labor Day weekend in Texas remains a painful memory for thousands of families who lost their homes to the devastating wildfires. While many fires raged out of control across this great state, the community of Bastrop was hit the hardest with over 1,600 homes destroyed. Thousands of volunteer and aid organizations flooded the community and have been assisting in the recovery process, which will take years to complete.
The film was featured on KXAN last Friday and several interviews of attendees were included on Monday and Tuesday broadcasts! We consider ourselves truly blessed to have had the opportunity to make this film and blessed by the incredible amount of support from the community!
“Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes”
Austin, TX – The 2011 Labor Day weekend in Texas will remain a painful memory for thousands of families who lost their homes to the devastating wildfires. While many fires raged out of control across Texas, the community of Bastrop was hit the hardest with over 1,600 homes destroyed. Thousands of volunteers and aid organizations flooded the community and have been assisting in the recovery process, which will take years to complete.
The documentary titled “Bastrop: Rising From The Ashes” will be released on the first anniversary of the tragic wildfires to bring continued awareness to impact and the continued recovery efforts on the ground. The goal of the film is to raise awareness of continuing recovery efforts on both a local and national level.
We are currently in our production phase and are moving ahead on schedule! We can’t wait to share the incredible stories of regrowth and survival. Use the links below to keep up with the project
Visit www.bastrop-documentary.com to learn more and like our Facebook page to keep up-to-date!