Live-action production company BRAWLER, under the aegis of executive producer Caspar von Winterfeldt and head of production Rob DeBakey, has opened up headquarters in Venice, Calif., to complement its Denver operation. The new Southern California foothold positions BRAWLER to cultivate more commercialmaking, broadcast and social media campaign opportunities for its directorial roster which includes Adam Wells, Brecht Van’t Hof, Chris Ekstein, Chris Folkens, Corey Petrick, Sascha Koellnreitner, Shomi Patwary, Soma Helmi, Travis Button and Yuri Alves.
Von Winterfeldt, an entrepreneur and alumnus of the American Film Institute and Vassar College, brings a wealth of experience, having learned under the guidance of the famed late British producer John Daly, co-founder of Hemdale Film Corp. Daly was von Winterfeldt’s mentor at publicly traded FAME (Fame and Music Entertainment). Seven years ago, von Winterfeldt founded the BCD company, a media holding firm integrating BRAWLER as well as motion picture development, financing and production company Fortune Films, virtual reality shop Baron VR, and media advisory, financing and investment equity firm IMI under one umbrella.
BRAWLER has ambitious plans to extend its reach internationally, forging a partnership with Barcelona based Mandarin Media, a production company with offices throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. “I’m thrilled to join this venture to expand Mandarin to more markets and supporting BRAWLER as their European base,” said Mandarin owner Carolin Akhtari. “With the lineup of our productions, we can compete with any budget and at the highest creative level.”
DeBakey hails from Maryland with a background in film from Valencia College, under professor Ralph Clemente. DeBakey’s journey to Los Angeles started with working for Von Winterfeldt and Daly 20 years ago.
DeBakey said of BRAWLER, “We’re not just a production company; we’re a community that encourages growth and creativity. All directors we work with have a proven track record, and we’re excited to expand our footprint internationally.”
BRAWLER’s directors have turned out projects on major streaming services, earning acclaim for their work in shorts, documentaries, and multiple award-winning productions.
- Wells has won two Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards for Craft and garnered three BAFTA nominations. His clients include Lego, Mercedes-Benz, Sony PlayStation, Ford, Nike and Sky Sports.
- Among Van’t Hof’s clients are Rosewood Hotels, SoHo House, Toyota and Hilton Hotels, and he’s worked with athletes such as Travis Kelce, Chase Young and Candace Parker.
- Ekstein won a directing award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and has a body of work spanning brands such as Warner Bros., the Jim Henson Company and American Airlines.
- Folkens recently shot with Ryan Seacrest for ABC’s New Year’s Eve Party 2024, and directed RZR, a series with Mena Suvari and Danny Trejo on the Gala streaming service.
- Petrick shoots high-end fashion projects and recently wrapped a VR piece about Mt. Everest, Kendrick Lamar and Quincy Jones.
- Koellnreitner comes off of a documentary about Austria and working with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Koellnreitner has also turned out work for Austrian Tourism and Ministry.
- Patwary has directed videos for Beyonce and The Weeknd, with commercial clients such as World of Mcintosh, EBay and Google. Patwary additionally directed episodes of Showtime’s Desus & Mero.
- Helmi, who started as an art director at J. Walter Thompson, has had work screened at Sundance, Hollyshorts, Outfest and Amazon’s New Voices Film Festival. She’s collaborated with Google, Klondike, Nike and Campbell’s Soup. Button has extensive VFX expertise and has directed spots for ServPro, Chrysler and Harmless Harvest.
- And Alves has earned a couple of regional Emmys, including one for Emerge, a live-concert film he directed featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra led by Maestra Xian Zhang. Alves has had shorts screened at the HBO NY Latino Film Festival, the Montclair Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival and Tribeca Cinemas. Alves–who also directed the alluded to series RZR with BRAWLER colleague Folkens–currently has four shorts available on Amazon Prime.
