Production company HALAL has added director Thessa Meijer to its global commercialmaking roster. Earlier this month Meijer won a coveted Grand Prix honor at CICLOPE Festival 2019 for her short film The Walking Fish, which was her first production with HALAL. The fantastical tale has scored with multiple juries worldwide (including a Special Jury Prize and Gold Screen in Cannes at the Young Directors Awards, and a Gold Medal at the 1.4 awards), in addition to being the 2020 Oscars submission for the Netherlands in the Short Film category.
The news that Meijer is now officially joining HALAL’s commercial roster is marked with the release of their first campaign, in collaboration with Amsterdam-based eyewear brand Ace & Tate. Meijer wrote and directed the short in Ace & Tate’s “Take Another Look” campaign, with photographer Nick van Tiem shooting the images.
Known for a dream-like aesthetic and humorous undertones, Meijer translated the Dutch brand’s “Take Another Look” message by creating lighthearted, beautifully striking visuals that play with the viewers’ perception. Meijer said, “We wanted every aspect of the campaign: from the visual landscape, to the sound design, to the relation between the characters and their environment–to act as catalysts for viewers to see things differently. I took a lot of inspiration from the shapes of the glasses themselves: square, round and so forth–and referenced them throughout the film in different ways.”
“Venom: The Last Dance” Tops Box Office For 2nd Straight Weekend
"Venom: The Last Dance" enjoyed another weekend at the top of the box office. The Sony release starring Tom Hardy added $26.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was a relatively quiet weekend for North American movie theaters leading up to the presidential election. Charts were dominated by big studio holdovers, like "Venom 3," "The Wild Robot" and "Smile 2," while audiences roundly rejected the Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Robert Zemeckis reunion "Here." Thirty years after "Forrest Gump," "Here" opened to only $5 million from 2,647 locations. "Venom 3" only fell 49% in its second weekend, which is a notably small drop for a superhero film, though it didn't exactly open like one either. In two weeks, the movie has made over $90 million domestically; The first two opened to over $80 million. Globally, the picture is brighter given that it has already crossed the $300 million threshold. Meanwhile, Universal and Illumination's "The Wild Robot" continues to attract moviegoers even six weeks in (and when it's available by video on demand), placing second with $7.6 million. That's up 11% from last weekend. The animated charmer has made over $121 million in North America and $269 million worldwide. "'The Wild Robot' has quietly been this absolute juggernaut for the fall season," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "For that film to see an increase after six weeks is astounding." "Smile 2" landed in third place with $6.8 million, helping to push its worldwide total to $109.7 million. The time-hopping "Here," a graphic novel that was adapted by "Forrest Gump" screenwriter Eric Roth, was financed by Miramax and distributed by Sony's TriStar. With a fixed position camera, it takes audiences through the... Read More