Independent global production network Stink Rising has signed director Netti Hurley for commercials, branded content and music promos worldwide. This marks her first representation in the U.S. and for that matter outside the U.K. Hurley’s work spans such brands as Stella McCartney, Nike, Puma and Tommy Jeans. She earned a Kinsale Shark nomination for “Black Rose” with Ghetts and further accolades for music videos with some of the U.K.’s hottest young performers.
Hurley’s explorations result in beautifully intimate portraits that are deeply human in their vulnerability. Her singular approach uses the camera to reveal elements of her subject to themselves and the audience, seemingly in real time. In 2018, her debut film, Coping, premiered on Dazed where Hurley was recognized as one of the Dazed 100.
Hurley said, “I’m looking forward to being part of such an exciting team and to have the right support to tell the stories that inspire me and push the world forward.”
Hurley was one of a small collective of female directors and activists invited to put their spin on ethical fashion design house Stella McCartney’s “FUTUREPLAYGROUND” spring/summer ‘21 campaign. Casting Calm and Violet, a queer art/activist couple, Hurley was able to capture their joy of love and passion for equality through art with a distinctive participatory documentary style. Mental health and BIPOC community advocate, Georgia Moot, also was featured celebrating how movement helps her retain balance and wellbeing.
Speaking about the campaign and collection, fashion designer McCartney said: “Young people today are so full of creative ideas and have an incredible energy, and so I think it’s really important to give them opportunities to share their work and vision–but also, we can all learn so much from them. The directors and cast from across the globe who brought this conscious campaign to life are incredibly diverse in both their backgrounds and their beliefs. I love seeing how each individual is working to protect the planet or their community in their own way, and how they’ve each captured the collection in settings that celebrate their environment–serving as another reminder as to why it’s so important we strive to protect it.”
Hannah Bellil, global head, Stink Rising & Music Video, said, “I’m blown away by Netti’s energy and vision and can’t wait to create not only meaningful work but film that reflects the generational shift that’s occurring currently across the globe.”
Stink Rising was formed in 2018 by Stink Films to nurture an international roster of up-and-coming directors and photographers.
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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