Biscuit Filmworks has added sibling directorial duo the Mundo Sisters—Nadine Mundo and Rena Mundo Croshere–to its roster. Known for their documentary work, the Mundo sisters recently expanded into ad arena with a branded short for fashion designer Rachel Roy to promote her spring 2015 collection.
The Mundo Sisters gained notice in the sports world with their 2014 short film Rowdy Ronda Rousey for ESPN Films, about the trailblazing UFC champion and her meteoric rise. Within 24 hours of its release, it became the second most-viewed short film in ESPN history. The duo then re-teamed with ESPN to develop and direct What Makes Us, a series of shorts profiling top female athletes including soccer stars Megan Rapinoe and Sydney Leroux, and surf champion Carissa Moore. The latest installment features ice hockey player Hilary Knight, and airs this fall.
Previously, the Mundo Sisters’ 2013 feature documentary American Commune–about their childhood on a rural Tennessee commune and their culture shock upon leaving it–premiered to critical acclaim at the HotDocs International Film Festival and was later broadcast on Al Jazeera America. The duo got their start at MTV, where they created and directed My Life (Translated) and were directors on the True Life documentary series.
Joining Biscuit as their formal commercialmaking roost marks a new career chapter for the Mundo Sisters. They are now part of a company directorial lineup which also includes Aaron Ruell, Aaron Stoller, Andreas Nilsson, Ayse Altinok, Christopher Riggert, Clay Weiner, Freise Brothers, The Glue Society (Gary Freedman and Matt Devine), Jeff Low, Matt Dilmore, Noam Murro, Ruairi Robinson, and Steve Rogers.
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