Production studio Florence has added director Will Niava to its roster for commercial and branded projects as well as music videos. This marks his first commercial signing.
Splitting his time between West Africa and Montrรฉal, Canada, Niava has turned out work for clients including Amazon Music, MTV, CBS, and artists such as Billie Eilish and H.E.R.
With his first film, Zoo, Niava explores the tenuousness of social order when a troubled man has a chance encounter with three outcasts. Dynamic camerawork and rhythmic editing mirror the emotional state of the film’s characters as their encounter escalates from a misunderstanding to all-out conflict. Zoo is a powerful and timely commentary on power, alienation, and how we treat our fellow man. The film has garnered 10 awards from international film festivals, as well as a spot in the Criterion Collection. Currently Niava is developing his next project, which he is co-writing alongside the Oscar-nominated director Jeremy Comte, and finalizing his second film, Element.
“Filmmaking for me is an immersive, lived experience” said Niava. “Florence has created a space in which I’ll be able to grow as an artist, honing my craft through commercial storytelling while also staying true to my voice.”
Jerad Anderson, founder/EP of Florence, said, “Will is a visionary and master storyteller. He grabs your attention from the first image and keeps you spellbound up until the very end.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this โ and those many "Babadook" memes โ unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables โ "Bah-Bah-Doooook" โ an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More