Director Sorrel Brae has joined the roster of Native Content, the boutique commercial production shop headed by founder Tomer DeVito. Based in New York, Brae has been working independently the past year after being with Humble and prior to that, Anonymous Content.
Brae’s credits span such brands as Procter & Gamble, the NFL, Mozilla Firefox, Bank of America, American Express and Toyota. His first project with Native was PhRMA’s “Go Boldly.” He has garnered various honors throughout his career including an ADDY, a One Show award, a Webby, and the Young Director Award at Cannes Lions. His independent short films such as A Film by Vera Vaughn and The Trial of Barnaby Finch have screened at festivals around the world and were named Vimeo Staff Picks.
“As a director, finding the right home comes down to the people and their vision, and when I talk with Tomer we just have such a strong connection – we align not just on filmmaking but on our values and the way we see the world,” said Brae. “Everyone at Native has an appetite to try new things, and I’m excited by their energy.”
DeVito said he’s “admired Sorrel for some time; he’s an exceptional storyteller who really knows his craft.”
Brae becomes part of a directorial lineup at the Los Angeles-based Native Content which also includes Ben Jacks, Eivind Holmboe, Iain Mackenzie, Rich Lee, Russ Lamoureux, The Cronenweths, and Tom Dey.
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