His “HEADSPACE/Bent” for artist Benjamin Earl Turner last week won “Best Hip Hop Video” at the UKMVAs
RadicalMedia has signed internationally recognized filmmaker Abteen Bagheri to its roster of talent for representation in the U.S. and U.K., spanning commercials, music videos, and branded content.
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, Bagheri has expanded internationally as he explores personal and playful tales that push the realms of reality. In 2011, Bagheri earned a Best New Director nomination at the UKMVAs for "Peso" by A$AP Rocky. The following year, he released a documentary short, THAT B.E.A.T., which premiered at Sundance 2012, and was also selected for competition at SXSW 2014.
He has since diversified further and developed a prolific portfolio of commercial work with leading brands including Apple, Google, Oculus, Smirnoff and Crown Royal. In 2019, he directed the centerpiece spot “More of Us” for Samsung as part of the campaign celebrating the 10th anniversary of the flagship Galaxy phone.
Most recently, he collaborated with cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi and animatronics artist Alec Gillis of Studio Gillis on the music video for Benjamin Earl Turner’s “HEADSPACE/Bent.” The buddy film, which features an impressive seven-foot animatronic as Turner’s accomplice, won “Best Hip Hop Video” at last week’s 2023 UKMVAs.
Prior to joining RadicalMedia, Bagheri had most recently been repped for commercials and music videos in the U.S. by production house Love Song.
On joining RadicalMedia–the production company behind the recently premiered Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, this year’s innovative Virgin Voyages AI campaign featuring Jennifer Lopez, and the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul–Bagheri said, “I’m excited to join such an established company that does a lot of diverse work. I’m here to continue pushing the boundaries across multiple mediums and Radical is the perfect partner to do that with.”
“Having worked with Abteen in the past, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be reunited with him here at RadicalMedia. Abteen has quite the range as a director. You can’t put him in a box, and being the true disruptor he is, he refuses to be put in one. He’s a perfect addition to the Radical roster and we look forward to supporting his success for many years to come,” said Molly Griffin, executive producer at RadicalMedia.
RadicalMedia president and co-founder Frank Scherma added, “Abteen is one of those rare talents that redefines what a director is and can do. We are thrilled to welcome him into the Radical family.”
SAG-AFTRA Calls For A Strike Against “League of Legends”
"League of Legends" is caught in the middle of a dispute between Hollywood's actors union and an audio company that provides voiceover services for the blockbuster online multiplayer game.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called a strike against "League of Legends" on Tuesday, arguing that Formosa Interactive attempted to get around the ongoing video game strike by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated title.
Formosa tried to "cancel" the unnamed video game, which was covered by the strike, shortly after the start of the work stoppage, SAG-AFTRA said. The union said when Formosa learned it could not cancel the game, the company "secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for 'non-union' talent only." In response, the union's interactive negotiating committee voted unanimously to file an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and to call a strike against "League of Legends" as part of that charge.
"League of Legends" is one of Formosa's most well-known projects. The company provides voiceover services for the game, according to SAG-AFTRA.
SAG-AFTRA has accused Formosa of interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join a union and prevent those performers from being discriminated against — a move the union called "egregious violations of core tenets of labor law."
Formosa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "League of Legends" developer Riot Games said that the company "has nothing to do" with the union's complaint.
"We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, 'League of Legends' has only asked Formosa to engage with union... Read More