Director Marianna Phung has joined Toronto-based FRANK Content for North American representation. Phung, who’s also a writer and actor, is of Vietnamese descent and strives to tell stories that give the underrepresented and marginalized a voice. Phung competed in Toronto’s 48hour Film Challenge and out of 90+ teams, she won “Best Director” for her film May Flowers which has now been screened in numerous countries and dozens of festivals around the world. To date, her awards include Best International Short and a nomination for Best Director at the Houston Comedy Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award at Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival, Best Narrative Short at Creations International Film Festival, and Best Foreign Experimental Short at Jelly Fest in LA….
Bacon Production has signed Norwegian director Emilie Norenberg along with Danish directors Johan Stahl and Martin Furze for representation in Scandinavia spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. Norenberg’s notable work includes the Sports Team music video “Here Is the Thing,” and the short film Voguing With Beethoven produced for Nowness. Stahl’s credits include assignments for international clients such as Lexus, GE, Shell and IKEA, documentaries like The Red Chapel and The Ambassador, and the brand film Dear Leader. Furze made a major splash in 2019 with the impactful anti-trafficking campaign “Voiceless Women” for a number of international NGOs….
OvareGroup, a Los-Angeles-based holding company, has acquired postproduction and visual effects studio Beast, formerly a subsidiary of Company 3/Method Inc., part of Deluxe Entertainment Services Inc. Beast has offices in San Francisco and Austin and will continue to operate as a stand-alone business unit. Beast has turned out work for brands including Nike, AT&T, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors, and such artists/performers as the Black Eyed Peas and Linkin Park….
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More