Creative content studio UnderWonder has added director KC Locke to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and music videos. This mark Locke’s first such representation in the American market. He continues to direct music videos in the U.K. via his own company, Swords and Eagles.
Manchester, England-born and based Locke studied cinematography and film production at university and started out in the industry on the agency side as a creative director. He has since made his name as a director, working with the likes of Mahalia, Burna Boy, T-Pain, Meekz, Ella Mai, Iamddb, Headie One, Ella Eyre, Yxng Bane, and Skepta, and saw major success with Ed Sheeran’s blockbuster video “Take Me Back To London (remix),” featuring Aitch, alongside Stormzy, and Jaykae. Locke’s commercial and brand credits include New Balance and New Balance Football, Nokia, Red Bull, Adidas, Kellogg’s, Nestle, and Virgin Galactic.
Frank Borin, co-founder and executive producer at UnderWonder, described Locke as “one of the biggest directors in the U.K. right now,” noting that “he’s repping his home city of Manchester, working with local and international artists, always creating the most authentic and exciting videos possible. We’re really looking forward to the work we’ll do together.”
“Frank and Ivanna [UnderWonder EP Borin] have built an impressive reputation within the music video and commercial worlds,” said Locke. “UnderWonder produces pulsating and culture-shifting films for some of the biggest names in the industry, and I’m beyond stoked to work alongside this award-winning roster of directors.”
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