Production company B-Reel Films has signed L.A.-based Gevorg Karensky, a VR and traditional director who comes over from Outsider/Unit 9, with projects under his belt for Jaguar out of Spark 44, London, Nissan out of Digitas LBI, Paris and a stunning VR experience for O2 out of MC Saatchi, London.
Karensky’s remarkable grasp of the future of storytelling was solidified most recently in Real Memories, a narrative VR film for Mini/BMW. The film takes a one-of-a-kind look at how the mind copes with the unknown, as seen through the chilling story of a manipulative psychotherapist.
Karensky initially became well known for his groundbreaking short film based on the popular Grand Theft Auto series that integrated a third person perspective and became a viral sensation that has racked up over 13 million views.
Karensky is the founding partner of Bipolar Id, a VR production company. B-Reel and Bipolar Id will co-produce all VR projects with Karensky. Bipolar Id is represented by ICM in the U.S.
Karensky joins a B-Reel Films’ directorial roster which includes Tom Malmros, Jeffery Plansker, Steven Tsuchida, Anders Hallberg, Johan Perjus, Simon Cole, Jon+Torey, Eivind Holmboe, Russell Brownley, Will Mayer, Jesper Hiro, Jens Sjögren, Mikael Marcimain and Anders Forsman.
B-Reel Films maintains offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Barcelona, Berlin and Stockholm.
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 — and those many "Babadook" memes — 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 — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — 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