At press time, The Mill, with facilities in London, New York and a newly opened shop in Santa Monica, announced that it is to be acquired by The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, and The Mill’s management for an undisclosed sum. Led by CEO Robin Shenfield, the Mill’s management team will own a substantial portion of the business after the transaction. The deal concludes The Mill’s relationship with private equity group 3i, which backed a management buyout of the business in February 2001. The Mill was founded in London in ’90 by Shenfield and Pat Joseph; both have committed to remain with the business. Additionally, advertising industry vet Michael Baulk has agreed to join The Mill as chairman of the board; he formerly served as chairman/CEO of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO….David Rolfe is staying put as production director of content at DDB Chicago. At one point he was apparently headed to JWT New York, but ultimately he decided to remain at DDB….Paranoid U.S. has added director Olivier Gondry to its roster. The Los Angeles-based shop will represent Gondry in the U.S. and Canada….Director Ramaa Mosley has joined Trio Films, Los Angeles. She comes over from Uber Content, Hollywood….Digital technology strategist Dan McGraw–formerly director of strategic development and technology for The Whitehouse, an international editorial house–has formed Seven Dials Media, a Chicago consultancy firm that will help ad agencies, production houses and corporate clients with digital asset management, workflow and media distribution….
“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