Director Samir Mallal has joined bicoastal/international production house Smuggler for U.S. representation.
A native Canadian, Mallal studied communications at Concordia University in Montreal. Upon graduating, he interned at the National Film Board of Canada, a longstanding pioneer of documentary filmmaking. After a riot erupted at Concordia between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists, Mallal followed and filmed three students closely involved. The footage evolved into Discordia, his first of three collaborations with director Ben Addelman. Discordia was an unexpected hit on the documentary circuit and traveled the world as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.
Mallal spent six months in India and followed a group of hard working and hard partying outsourced call-center employees for his next effort, Bombay Calling, also co-directed with Addelman. The documentary was nominated for a Canadian TV Academy Award (Gemini) and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
Nollywood Babylon, Mallal’s third film teaming him with Addelman, examines the explosive popularity of Nollywood, Nigeria’s burgeoning film industry. It was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Nollywood Babylon was picked up by Lorber Films and was selected for special showcases at the British Museum, MOMA and the Smithsonian Institute.
Tropicana’s “Arctic Sun,” Mallal’s first commercial–produced by Radke Film Group, Toronto–won a Gold Lion at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Also at the Cannes Ad Fest, Mallal was also selected for the Saatchi and Saatchi New Directors Showcase largely on the strength of “Arctic Sun.”
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More