Simon Cole and Adam Cameron–a.k.a. the directorial duo Joe Public–have parted ways. Cole will remain on the directors roster of bicoastal/international HSI Productions while Cameron pursues other opportunities….At year’s end Ron Lawner, vice chairman, global chief creative officer at Arnold Worldwide, is concluding his 25-year career at the Boston-headquartered agency. He expects to remain involved in the industry in a consulting capacity and to possibly serve on a variety of corporate boards……Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary has come aboard Visual Music, Woodland Hills, Calif., for representation in commercials, trailers and promos…….Spy Films, Toronto, has added director Maxime Giroux as well as two helming teams–Fluorescent Hills, which specializes in animation combined with live action, and the Duplex duo known for live action, 3D animation, compositing, motion design and visual effects supervision….Santa Monica-based Entity FX has opened a full-service visual effects shop in Vancouver, B.C…..Greg Strause and Colin Strause–a.k.a. the directing team The Brothers Strause–have wrapped principal photography on their feature helming debut, Alien Vs. Predator 2, for 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment, and are again available for spots and videos via Santa Monica-based production house Tight….
“Atropia” and “Twinless” Win Marquee Prizes At Sundance Film Festival
The war satire “Atropia,” about actors in a military role-playing facility, won the grand jury prize in the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. dramatic competition, while the Dylan O’Brien movie “Twinless” got the coveted audience award.
Juries and programmers for the 41st edition of the independent film festival announced the major prizewinners Friday in Park City, Utah.
Other grand jury winners included the documentaries “Seeds,” about farmers in rural Georgia and “Cutting Through the Rocks,” about the first elected councilwoman in an Iranian village. The Indian drama “Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears),” about a city dweller mourning his father in the western Indian countryside, won the top prize in the world cinema competition.
“It’s for my dad,” said writer and director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade. His late father, he said, was the one who encouraged him to pursue filmmaking.
Audiences also get to vote on their own awards, where James Sweeney’s “Twinless,” about the bromance between two men who meet in a twin bereavement support group, triumphed in the U.S. dramatic category. O’Brien also won a special jury award for his acting.
The U.S. documentary audience award went to “André is an Idiot,” a life-affirming film about dying of colon cancer. Other audience picks were “Prime Minister,” about former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and “DJ Ahmet,” a coming-of-age film about a 15-year-old boy in North Macedonia.
Mstyslav Chernov, the Oscar-winning Associated Press journalist, won the world cinema documentary directing award for his latest dispatch from Ukraine, “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a joint production between the AP and PBS Frontline.
“Here’s to all... Read More