Director/designer and artist Greg Barth has signed exclusively with CoMPANY Films for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branding work. Barth, who hails from Geneva, Switzerland, and resides in London, is probably best known for applying design to advertising using physical effects, bringing to life surreal concepts for brands such as McDonald’s, Twizzlers, WIXX, Mail Chimp, ESPN, Subway and L’Oreal. Barth is also currently directing an ambitious experiential project for a major online multi-player game.
“Greg has such a unique voice as a director, whether it’s his spots, his shorts or his music videos — how could we not sign him?” said CoMPANY executive producer Ron Cicero. “He has a solid history working in the ad space as a designer, And he’s super charming. It was a no-brainer, Richard (CoMPANY EP Goldstein) and I immediately fell in love with him.”
Barth–who earlier had been repped in the U.S. ad arena by Ruffian–wants to set the tone for brands using his love of applying in-camera effects that further the creative. “I have a curious soul, I create worlds with practical effects,” said Barth, who won the Young Director Award at Cannes in 2014. “My work has evolved into bringing actors into these quirky, colorful worlds. Early on I moved away from animation and computer graphics towards a viewpoint of weird comedy brought to life with technical knowledge. It evolved into many scenarios featuring stop motion, but it has really grown from there.”
Barth points to recent spots like one titled, “Groceries,” for Twizzlers that shows his prowess working actors into the mix. “We’re not talking good-looks casting here, we’re talking amazing faces, people my mom would say have lots of character,” he says. “The conversation usually begins with an open brief from agency creatives. Comedy with a visual twist. We go from there.”
The director began his career by earning a graphic design degree from Ecole des Arts Appliques and a diploma from NAD Center in visual effects. In addition to directing spots, short films and music videos, for the last 12 years Barth has headed up gregbarth.tv, his own quirky and experimental online content channel.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More