Mark Sitley has joined Euro RSCG MVBMS, New York, as executive creative director of production. He was formerly director of production, North America, for Fallon, Minneapolis and New York….Director Johan Kramer has signed with bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures for U.S. representation. Kramer, a founding partner of agency KesselsKramer, Amsterdam, will remain involved in the ad shop….Director Stuart Macleod has signed with Cine/DRSA International, New York, for spotwork…. Josianne Cote has been promoted to executive producer at Rex Edit, the Venice, Calif.-based house owned by cutter Bill Marmor. Cote, who had been a producer at Rex for the past two years, succeeds Allison Nunn, who sold her interest in the shop and is pursuing other business interests, according to Marmor. Additionally, Benjamin Foushee has been upped to assistant editor….Visual effects designer Julie Watkins has returned to R!OT Manhattan. Watkins, who was most recently with Spontaneous Combustion, New York, had previously been with R!OT Manhattan from 1999-’01….Michael Apted, a feature filmmaker (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist) and documentarian (Incident at Oglala) who directs commercials via bicoastal GARTNER, has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). He succeeds Martha Coolidge, who did not seek re-election. Coolidge was, however, named first VP of the guild….
London Critics Name “The Brutalist” The Film of the Year
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s immigrant saga, won the Film of the Year prize at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.
While The Brutalist garnered just one award, it was the marquee honor. Meanwhile Nickel Boys, Conclave and A Real Pain all receivd multiple awards, and Zoe Saldaña was honored twice.
Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller Conclave took two awards for British/Irish Film of the Year and Actor of the Year for Ralph Fiennes, while RaMell Ross’s radical Colson Whitehead adaptation Nickel Boys was recognized with Director of the Year and the Technical Achievement Award for Jomo Fray’s first-person cinematography. Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy A Real Pain was the night’s other multiple prizewinner, landing Screenwriter of the Year for the actor-filmmaker, and Supporting Actor of the Year for co-star Kieran Culkin.
Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai-set drama All We Imagine as Light was named Foreign Language Film of the Year, while the Palestinian-Israeli collective behind No Other Land took Documentary of the Year.
Alongside Conclave, British productions awarded by the Circle in the top categories included Mike Leigh’s intimate character study Hard Truths, which took Actress of the Year for Marianne Jean-Baptiste, while Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was named Animated Feature of the Year. In the British/Irish-specific categories, Saoirse Ronan won British/Irish Performer of the Year for her performances in The Outrun and Blitz, 14-year-old Nykiya Adams won Young British/Irish Performer of the Year for her screen debut in Andrea Arnold’s Bird, and Rich Peppiatt won the... Read More