Bicoastal Greenpoint Pictures has added Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah to its directorial roster. This marks her first career signing for commercial production representation in the U.S.
Dawson-Amoah’s passion for film was born from the desire to translate her poetry to the screen. Her work is evocative, deeply moving, and subtly thought-provoking, drawing the viewer into the world she has created through a catalytic camera lens. At times observed, sometimes narrative, Dawson-Amoah’s work is expertly choreographed.
She also has a deep commitment to expanding representation within the industry. Beyond her work as a director, Dawson-Amoah runs The Melacast Network, a virtual platform focused on connecting BIPOC actors, directors, and crew of color with the opportunities, talent, and resources needed to tell culturally rich and diverse stories through film. Her work has been recognized by Fusion Film Festival, Raindance Festival, Cinequest, Toronto Black Film Festival, NFFTY, among others.
In her short film To the Girl That Looks Like Me, Dawson-Amoah extends an outstretched hand to young Black girls of all ages, giving voice to their pain and perseverance, while also celebrating a rich, shared heritage and culture. Elemental, nuanced, and poignant, the film was a 2020 Student Academy Awards finalist and selected for the “Scene in Color Film Series,” a joint partnership between Target and NBCUniversal which will introduce viewers to three emerging BIPOC filmmakers and their short films. Clips from To the Girl That Looks Like Me, were featured in a segment announcing the film series on The Today Show, during which producer Will Packer championed Dawson-Amoah, saying, “this is the next generation of filmmakers we’re going to be hearing about for a very long time.”
“It’s a crazy special feeling when you’re surrounded by people that want to see you win,” said Dawson-Amoah. “What drives me most is telling stories that create an impact and challenge the norms. I’m constantly looking for ways to experiment behind the camera and the team at Greenpoint truly fosters that environment, allowing me the space to grow as a director. I’m excited to say I found my new creative home.”
“Ewurakua is one of those rare talents that comes around only once in a blue moon,” said Greenpoint creative director Niles Roth. “Her films make use of choreography and visual metaphor in a way that you usually only see with seasoned directors. The work she was making in college was so strong we had to see what she could create with the right amount of money and resources. I am beyond excited to have her as part of the Greenpoint family and to watch her star ascend.”
Google Witness At Antitrust Trial Says Government Underestimates Competition For Online Advertising
Federal regulators who say Google holds an illegal monopoly over the technology that matches online advertisers to publishers are vastly underestimating the competition the tech giant faces, an expert hired by Google testified Thursday.
Mark Israel, an economist who prepared an expert report on Google's behalf, said the government's claims that Google holds a monopoly over advertising technology are improperly focused on a narrow market the government defines as "open web display advertising," essentially the rectangular ads that appear on the top and along the right hand side of a web page when a consumer browses the web on a desktop computer.
But the government's case fails to account for a variety of competition that occurs beyond those rectangular boxes, Israel said. In the real world, advertisers have dramatically shifted where they spend money to social media companies like Facebook and TikTok, and online retailers like Amazon.
When you account for all online display advertising, not just the narrow segment defined by the government's case, Google gets just 10% of the U.S. market share as of 2022, he said. That's down from roughly 15% a decade ago.
In addition, advertisers have moved away from placing their ads on the screens of desktop and laptop computers where Google is alleged to control the market, with money migrating to ads placed on apps and mobile device screens. Israel cited marketing data showing display ad spending on desktop and laptop devices has decreased from 71% in 2013 to 17% in 2022.
The government's case "seems to miss where the competition is today," Israel said.
His testimony comes as Google wraps up its defense in the third week of an antitrust trial that began earlier this month in Alexandria,... Read More