Epoch Films has added filmmaker Jackie Abraham to its talent roster. This marks his first representation in the U.S. market.
Hailing from Toronto, Abraham began his career as an advertising copywriter, frequently collaborating with high-level brands like Lexus, Ford, Scotiabank, and Budweiser, among many others. From there, he followed his passion for storytelling and started directing commercials and shorts. He quickly developed an inclination towards saturated color palettes, masterfully composed tableaus, and mining cinematic moments from everyday interactions. His first ventures into filmmaking were the films Millennials Anonymous, A Family Affair, and The Altruist Too, which was a tongue-in-cheek response film to Kristoffer Borgli’s film The Altruist.
Abraham went on to direct commercials for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Earth Rated, PUR Gum, Wealthsimple, and BASSMAKER, a fashion film for SIDIA, and a film study, Pho Tien, in which he profiles the Pho shop he lives above. He directed a similar character study, Chosen, based around his childhood friend, Matthew Eisen. Additional short films directed by Abraham include Nine to Five, 1995, The Society of Fancy Couches, and the satirical 17 Minutes After Social Media Was Wiped Off the Face of the Earth, wherein a group of men get together to like each other’s pictures in person.
“I’m honored that they’ve chosen to invest in me as a director,” said Abraham on joining Epoch Films. “Epoch’s reputation precedes them, and I feel inspired by my roster-mates and the amazing leadership. Everyone I have met so far at Epoch has been wonderful, and I can’t wait to get to work.”
Melissa Culligan, managing executive producer of Epoch Films, added, “Jackie is innately exciting as a director. He’s got incredible taste and can follow through on his visions in new and exciting ways. His appetite for artistic growth and his background in advertising are all indicators for me that his career as a commercial filmmaker is going to be an exciting one.”
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XRโs offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role heโs held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossanoโs expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the companyโs creative talent network. Rossanoโs career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that companyโs inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More