Global production company BRF (B-Reel Films) has added Henry Mason–whose body of work spans commercials, TV dramas, film and theatre–to its directorial roster in the U.S.
Mason’s credits include campaigns for such brands as Honda, T-Mobile, Bombay Sapphire, McLaren, Nike and Coca-Cola. He just shot his first commercial campaign with BRF out of agency GSD&M in Austin, Texas.
Pelle Nilsson, founder and CEO of BRF, said, “Henry is just finishing his first feature film and we believe long format storytelling will grow to be even more important in the future, even for brands. He fits in perfectly with our commitment to create original content and we’re super excited to be working with him in all formats.”
Prior to joining BRF, Mason was handled by Chelsea Pictures for spots and branded content in the U.S. He continue with Bold in the U.K.
Mason has also directed TV drama for the BBC and Channel 4, as well as for theatre and film. He has made a series of short documentaries for Sky Sports about football fans around the UK, and collaborated with fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez on “Of Nothing,” which was shot on location in Brazil in the favelas where bottletop handbags are made for charity. Mason’s film All That Way For Love opened the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, was selected by the BFI for distribution as part of their Best Short Film series, and screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013.
Mason noted, “Growing up on shoots with my father, who was a big advertising director, I developed a love for creating really compelling content. I’m excited to join BRF’s roster to work on commercials, and look forward to working with a production company that is future thinking and is pushing the boundaries of creative expression.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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