Scandinavian filmmaker Henrik Rostrup has joined Venice-based production house Farm League for commercials and branded content in the U.S. He will also be available through the company for feature documentaries on a project-by-project basis.
Rostrup brings highly visual, outdoors-driven, richly textured human storytelling to Farm League, which is under the aegis of founder, EP and managing director Tim Lynch. On a recent shoot in the Dubai desert for an Etisalat telecom commercial via Impact BBDO, Rostrup corralled horses, cars and motorcycles for a high-octane storyline, while a long-form piece for Cisco shot in his native Norway highlighted the profound importance of forest conservation.
An avid mountain bike racer in his youth, Rostrup forged a filmmaking path chasing his friends downhill with a Bolex 16mm camera. On top of the world’s most breathtaking mountain peaks, he captured the boldness of professional bikers, skiers and snowboarders with an intrepid and rugged eye. His ability to get up-close with his subjects launched a directing career that took Rostrup around the globe documenting the action sports he loved, always bringing to it a hi-def cinematic sheen.
The self-taught Rostrup has helmed work for clients such as Reebok, Gore-Tex, Montblanc, Norwegian Industries and Netcom. Crediting the great outdoors as the canvas and inspiration for his work, Rostrup noted, “Everything I’ve learned surrounding myself with mountain athletes and other risk-taking creative people plays a huge factor in how I see the natural world as a person and behind the camera.”
All the adventuring isn’t to say he works off-the-cuff. Rostrup emphasizes planning during pre-pro stages, building the structure that allows him to stay polished yet spontaneous and reactive. As he said,“Set goals and then practice, practice, practice. It filters right into my filmmaking, enabling me to trust my instincts in the moment.”
Prior to joining Farm League, Rostrup was with Variable for spots and branded content in the U.S. He is handled internationally by Bandits in France, Tempomedia in Germany, Archer’s Mark in the U.K. and Ireland, Aspekt in Scandinavia, and maintains a relationship with agent Nicholas Berglund in Europe and Asia.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More