StunSpots, the commercial production unit of Stun Creative, has added two spot directors to its roster–Andrew De Zen and Cameron Gade.
A Canadian born director, writer, producer, and editor based out of Toronto, De Zen has worked with clients such as Nike, PlayStation, Joe Fresh, Victim Services Toronto, Indigo, and YMCA. Most recently, he has been creating, directing, and producing a series of connected short films called Of Walls & Mountains. De Zen’s highly visual storytelling has been deployed in a wide range of projects, including short films, commercials, documentaries, music videos and web content.
Gade is an emerging new talent; a director, cinematographer, and writer of commercials and music videos who is based in the wide-open spaces of Utah. Cameron connects personally and viscerally to every spot he works on, whether it is for a new technology such as RealSoulApp, or for the socially responsible accessories company Arvo.
“These guys are enormous talents,” said Jared Christensen, Stun Creative’s VP head of production. “Andrew and Cameron bring to StunSpots a lyrical and cinematic sensibility, and vast experience with major brands. We look forward to introducing them to our brand and agency clients and collaborating on great campaigns.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More