The international directing duo of Inti Calfat and Dirk Verheye, best known within the industry as Norman Bates, has joined production company BRF for representation in the U.S. and Stockholm. Norman Bates had previously been handled by production house Stink.
Calfat and Verheye first met in a scriptwriting course seven years ago. After working together on a TV show, they joined forces to create their first-ever music video as the newly branded Norman Bates for Rapper Roscoe called “Lowlands.” At the time, Verheye was focused on documentaries and commercials, while Calfat had a classical art history background. By combining their expertise, along with an obsessive eye for detail and a commitment to tell stories, the duo sparked a natural evolution to their work. Over the course of their careers together, they’ve directed film, documentaries and award-winning music videos, and have produced successful advertising campaigns for brands like HTC, Coca Cola, Uniqlo, and Mercedes.
The directors took Samsonite customers on a surreal journey with its “Enjoy Every Second” global campaign, and in 2017, they shot their first fiction series–Over Water for Belgian network VRT. The series is a gritty crime drama set around the port city of Antwerp.
“I’ve been impressed with Norman Bates’ authentic and emotional approach to their work for some time now,” said Pelle Nilsson, CEO of BRF. “The way they combine surrealism and realism in their work has always made them stand out to me. They bring an artistic edge that will resonate well with our clients, and within our roster of creatively driven directors.”
Currently, Norman Bates is developing a new fiction series and a feature film. Under BRF, they will look to broaden the scope of their storytelling in both short and long form by working with BRF’s head of original content, Philip Westgren.
Verheye said, “Inti and I continue to look for new ways to not only evolve our current scope of work, but to also expand into different types of projects than what we’re used to. We’re joining BRF because we feel it will give us the opportunity to expand our expertise, and will offer us the right kind of flexibility to truly create something special with everything we do.”
Calfat added, “BRF gets what we do and understands where we want to venture to next within our careers. They are giving us an amazing opportunity to write our story in the states and expand into Stockholm.”
BRF maintains offices in Los Angeles, Stockholm and Oslo.
