Director Samir Mallal has signed with Interrogate, bringing his emotionally rich brand of storytelling to the production company, which spearheads projects out of its Los Angeles, New York and Sydney offices. Interrogate will handle commercial, film and branded content representation for Mallal in the U.S. and Australia. He continues to be repped in the U.K. by Independent, in France by Grand Bazar, in Canada by Skin and Bones, and in India by Ransom. In the U.S. market, he was last handled by m ss ng p eces and earlier Superprime and Smuggler.
“Truthfulness creates emotion and that’s central in every story I tell,” related Mallal. “When it is done right, it’s genuine and provokes intense feeling and reaction. From the initial concept to working closely with the actors, it’s a carefully crafted process that immerses the viewer in the story and makes them identify with the characters.”
Mallal’s humanity-focused approach gives him a broad-based appeal that translates across different markets, from the U.S. to internationally. Tugging at heartstrings is a signature tactic Mallal has refined, dating back to his first documentary feature Discordia in 2004, and his subsequent documentaries, Bombay Calling and Nollywood Babylon, the latter of which was a frontrunner for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, with all three films earning him recognition on the international festival circuit.
Mallal first made a splash in the commercial realm in 2010 with his acclaimed “Arctic Sun” ad for Tropicana, winning him a Cannes Gold Lion and landing him a coveted spot in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase. Recently, “Arctic Sun” was voted the top commercial in Canadian cinema history by the Toronto International Film Festival.
Since helming that auspicious ad, Mallal has been sought after by clients including Coca-Cola, 7-Up, Nestea, Smirnoff, Starbucks, GE and Allstate. Mallal has also helmed work for such tech giants as Apple, Dell, Facebook, Google and Samsung. He’s garnered top industry honors from the AICP Show, Clios, Webbys, and served on the AICP jury.
At Interrogate–which is under the aegis of EPs Jeff Miller and George Meeker–Mallal will continue to craft stories across various formats. On joining the roster, he remarked, “Interrogate is passionate about what they do and involved in every partnership. The team pays attention to every detail in the creative process.”
