Commercial production company Partners Film has added filmmaker and photographer Josh Soskin to its roster for Canadian representation. Soskin was with Circle in Canada and continues to be handled by Ladybug in the U.S. Soskin’s diverse filmography includes short films, commercials, and photography. Originally an actor, Soskin moved behind camera when he was just 21 years old after losing his hair to Alopecia. He has since helmed commercials for global brands including Adobe, Match.com, Ford, Amazon, Samsung, and Snickers, Soskin’s short films have been named Vimeo Staff Picks, while his 2015 drama La Carnada premiered at Tribeca and was named Best of Fest at Palm Springs. He is currently working on his first full-length feature, The Rooster Prince, which he describes as the Jewish Rainman. The film was inspired by losing his brother to a bipolar disorder….
Havas has acquired Hamburg-based digital performance marketing agency EPROFESSIONAL, expanding its portfolio of performance marketing services and further strengthening its position as an agency group in Germany. EPROFESSIONAL will retain its independent branding and join the organization under Havas Media Network. Founded in an attic in Hamburg in 1999, EPROFESSIONAL is an experienced partner in all aspects of digital marketing, from SEO/SEA to social media and multichannel tracking. EPROFESSIONAL has been working successfully for clients such as Vodafone, L’Orรฉal and Hapag Lloyd for many years….
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