From the Film Augusta Newsletter:
COVID-19 critically halted the film industry cancelling all productions planned in Augusta after March 2020. The good news is interest in Augusta as a film production center grew. As the film industry had time on its hands, FILM Augusta saw inquiries and requests for information increase over 2019.
Further, the familiarization tour hosted by FILM Augusta and Film Columbia County, which brought locations scouts who are members of the Location Managers Guild International to Augusta’s River Region in March, continues to pay dividends. The relationships built with the attendees and their new knowledge of our area resulted in tangible inquiries and one reality series scheduled to begin production in Augusta in early February 2021.
Without the ability to host in person tours of Augusta, FILM Augusta turned its attention to digital marketing efforts. The FILM Augusta Lookbook, which highlights film-friendly locations, provides links to our photo library and contains information about Augusta resources, was sent to a nationwide list of location scouts, location managers, unit production managers, producers, and directors. Fifty percent of the email recipients opened the email, which is considered a high measurement of email open rates. As a digital marketing piece, the FILM Augusta Lookbook will be regularly updated and used as a resource to market Augusta.
According to Deadline, “Awaken“ follows Oliver Cook (Agron), a wealthy businessman dealing with the loss of his only child. It is a mystery whether she was murdered or kidnapped. No one has a clue in this tale of murder and revenge that involves Oliver’s wife, his lawyer (Bell), a person from the past (Henriksen), a stripper, a recluse and a mysterious woman. As Oliver begins to unravel the mystery, he learns that events of the deep past have a direct bearing on his family’s survival.
FILM Augusta offices are a location in the film along with other notable Augusta locations, such as the Miller Theater and a historic mansion in the Summerville neighborhood. The film is currently in post-production.
