Virginia, a renowned writer and director, is deeply influenced by her New Zealand roots, which is reflected in her unique visual style and expressive vision. She currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 2014, Virginia directed the feature-length documentary "From Scotland With Love", which was nominated for BAFTA Scotland and received a theatrical release through Park Circus Sales & Distribution Company and a digital release through Journeyman Pictures. The film premiered with a live musical performance of the soundtrack at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 and the Barbican, London, and has since been screened at numerous international film festivals, including the Dublin International Film Festival, Buenos Aires IFF, New Zealand IFF, Edinburgh International Arts Festival, Vancouver IFF, and Chicago European Union Film Festival, among others. The film has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise from UK press and public alike, including "Brilliantly evokes the flavour of 20th century Scotland" from The Herald, "Hypnotic" from The Independent, "Some kind of genius" from The Guardian, and "Spellbinding" from The Radio Times.
Virginia's short film "Relativity" won the "Best Short Film" award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for the European Film Academy Awards. The film follows three different perspectives on a shocking and humorous event in the lives of a mother, her daughter, and the mother's boyfriend, leaving the audience to question which, if any, is the truth.
Virginia has also won a National Film Board of Canada Cross Media Challenge Award for her film and cross-platform project "My Dangerous Loverboy", which explores the issue of sex trafficking of teenagers. Her other short films, including "Deep Freeze", "Point Annihilation", and "Little Lost David", have been showcased at international festivals such as The Hamptons, New York, St Petersburg's "Message to Man", St Tropez, London, Verona, New Zealand, and Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Virginia has two feature documentaries in development, "Mae West: Boxer in a Corset" and "She Sings of Murder and Love", both of which are supported by Screen Scotland in Development.
Virginia began her film career directing a series of international arts documentaries for Channel 4 Television's "Rear Window" and "Arthouse" series, including "Songs From The Golden City", which follows the story of exiled jazz legends The Manhattan Brothers as they return to South Africa to seek justice, featuring Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela. Her films have received funding from the BFI, SBS (Australia),SABC (South Africa),UK Film Council, National Film Board of Canada, Screen Yorkshire, and Creative Scotland.
Throughout her body of work, Virginia's distinctive directorial style and strong cinematic vision explore her signature themes of women, sex, power, love, betrayal, trust, and desire.
