Epoch Films UK has signed London-based director and photographer Filmawi for representation in the U.K. In advertising, he has helmed photography and video campaigns for brands including Comme Des Garçons, Burberry, Adidas, Puma, and Dr Martens. Most recently he has collaborated with Hennessy, the NBA and Converse. For the latter, Filmawai directed a campaign featuring BAFTA-winning actor John Boyega in his hometown of London. Filmawi’s work is intrinsically connected with music, working with artists such as Stormzy, Post Malone, Slowthai, Jungle, DaBaby, Dizzie Rascal, Chance the Rapper, Wretch 32 and many more to create portraiture, tour visuals and album artworks. Filmawi recently collaborated with James Arthur, for which he explores a world of noise and confusion. It depicts the human journey of trying to find order in an intrinsically chaotic world….
San Francisco and Chicago-based agency Camp+King has brought Matt Hill aboard its Midwest production team as sr. producer. Hill is a Chicago native whose career spans a wide variety of verticals–broadcast production, line production, postproduction, experiential, and managing the development of digital technology products. Hill has worked with global and national clients including Nissan/Infiniti, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, Cox Communications, Xfinity, Sprint, Discover Financial Services, Clorox, Nestle, and more. Camp + King’s clients include brands such as Energizer, RE/MAX, and Papa John’s….
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