Bicoastal production company Valiant Pictures has signed U.K.-based directing duo BRAIN WASH TV (BWTV)–consisting of Ryan Vernava and Liam Karim Achaรฏbou–for their first U.S. commercial representation. Fusing Vernava’s live-action filmmaking prowess with Achaรฏbou’s graphic design acumen, BWTV counts among their collaborators artists like Tom Jones, Bonobo and Bastille, and brands such as Reebok, Red Bull and GucciGhost, among others.
Valiant Pictures executive producer Matthew D’Amato noted, “My business partner Vincent Lin and I have long been connected with Ryan and Liam and love their quality creative and work ethic. We’re excited to finally collaborate together on inventive branded content for amazing clients.”
In a joint statement, BWTV shared, “We’re very excited to finally be working with Matt and Vince over in the U.S, it has been a long time coming and they are just the best people. We can’t wait to join their roster of unbelievably great storytellers and bring our own brand of weird to an exciting new market.”
Vernava brought his passion for drama and film to the U.K.’s world-renowned National Film & Television School where he undertook award-winning commercial and film projects and met Achaรฏbou, self-taught in all things film, photography and tech, though landing at uni with an early love for graphic design. The BRAIN WASH collaboration began as an indie film event the pair hosted while in school, evolving into their moniker for crafting live event visuals for film and music festivals, and tours.
Fresh from school, the two easily segued to directing projects for music videos and ads, as well as designing film and television title sequences. Their collaboration with Liam Gallagher for the poignant “Too Good For Giving Up” music video quickly achieved viral status on Twitter and TikTok, and among celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Louis Tomlinson, due to the song’s crucial messaging surrounding men’s mental health and the video’s raw and powerful visual imagery.
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 โ and those many "Babadook" memes โ 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 โ "Bah-Bah-Doooook" โ 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