Washington Square Films has signed director Lana Wilson for commercial representation. Wilson’s most recent film, the Taylor Swift documentary Miss Americana, peers beyond the sold-out stadiums and millions of devoted fans of the Grammy-winning artist to uncover the journey of a woman embracing the full power of her voice. The film opened the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming globally on Netflix. In addition to her feature film work, Wilson has helmed a wide range of episodic and short-form projects including the web series A Cure for Fear that was nominated for the 2019 IDA Documentary Award for Best Short-Form Series.
Wilson’s debut feature film After Tiller, which ventures inside the lives of the four most-targeted abortion clinics in the country, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later went on to earn a News & Documentary Emmy Award for Best Documentary. In 2017, Wilson’s documentary The Departure premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and still currently boasts an unheard of 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Her aforementioned A Cure for Fear was commissioned by First Look Media/Topic and premiered at the Camden International Festival before a festival run, including SXSW in 2019. She also wrote and produced the premiere episode of the National Geographic documentary miniseries I Am Rebel.
Prior to joining the Washington Square Films roster, Wilson was repped in the ad arena by Girl Culture Films.
Jonathan Schwartz, director of marketing & sales/managing director at New York-based Washington Square Films, said, “Lana is a remarkable talent. Her work is visual, it has depth, she can tell a great story and the connection she makes with her subjects is apparent in everything she does.”
Wilson shared, “As a filmmaker, oscillating between different formats and lengths is exciting to me and helps keep my approach fresh. I’m eager to partner with a company like Washington Square Films that truly embraces a blend of entertainment and advertising work for their directors. I love short-form work because it gives me the chance to follow my instincts, try new things, and find creative solutions that will resonate with audiences.”
Wilson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded artist fellowships from the Sundance Institute, MacDowell, Yaddo and Film Independent, and was named to DOC NYC’s inaugural “40 Under 40” list. She is a recipient of the 2019 Chicken & Egg Award, which recognizes and elevates experienced documentary makers. Wilson has taught master classes and workshops at UnionDocs and DCTV, and was a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More