Journalist Helen Kapalos is to leave television as a news and current affairs reporter to pursue a career as a documentary film maker at the helm of her own company.

One of the most recognisable faces on our screens will see out her contract at Channel 7 this month, when she will embark full-time on her new journey as an independent producer.

The move comes partly as a result of huge efforts she has made over the past 12 months to raise the profile of the use of marijuana in medical treatment.
Kapalos’ impassioned exploration of the debate for Seven’s Today Tonight show brought the subject to national attention and was the catalyst for her first major documentary production.

Entitled A Life of its Own, the film chronicles how Tamworth man Dan Haslam – who died last month aged 25 after succumbing to bowel cancer – became an unlikely crusader for medical marijuana.

Mr Haslam turned to the drug to fight the effects of chemotherapy and his advocacy pushed the use of the drug to the brink of legislation in NSW and Victoria.

Much of A Life of its Own was shot in Israel where medical marijuana is legal and Kapalos self-funded the production.

Assistance offered by ‘angel’ investors ensured that it could complete its post-production in Melbourne. The film will air on television first in the United States later this year and then will be distributed in Australia.

More projects are already in the pipeline – including an international co-production on women’s empowerment involving location shooting in New York and Italy.

Ms Kapalos, clearly relishing her new found independence, told Neos Kosmos her company is to be called ‘Rest of the Story Productions’.

“Working in commercial TV news, I was always saying to myself there was more to the stories I was reporting, hence the name.”

While describing her move as “a journey into the unknown”, the much-admired journalist, who started out as a reporter for ABC Radio in 1994, says her decision to go out on her own was “driven by the desire ‘to tell the truth and nothing but the truth’.

“I was no longer prepared to operate within the confines of the paradigm that exists within commercial television – being edited by someone else, and possibly having a story misrepresented.”

“I’m at an age where I have the maturity of the stories I’ve done behind me, and I feel confident enough to do this now. Everything up until now has prepared me for this path.”

Ms Kapalos will remain Melbourne-based. A major project exploring representations of the Greek crisis is also at the planning stage.