Daryn Okada, ASC–whose recent credits include Just Like Heaven and Stick It–has been elected president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). He succeeds Richard Crudo, ASC (American Pie), who has served three terms as ASC president.
“I am both humbled and honored that my colleagues have chosen me for this role,” Okada said. “I will rely on the advice and the support of our members and associates as we continue on the historic mission defined by the founders of ASC nearly 90 years ago. We are dedicated to advancing both the art and the craft of filmmaking .
“I believe that those of us who are privileged to work in this extraordinary industry have an obligation to the filmmakers who inspired us in the past, to future generations and to the public who are relying on us to explore the next frontiers,” Okada added.
During his career, Okada has compiled more than 40 credits, including Lake Placid, My Father the Hero, Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken, Anna Karenina, Dr. Doolittle 2, Joe Somebody, Cradle 2 The Grave, Mean Girls, and Paparazzi. His work on the miniseries In A Child’s Name (1991) earned him an ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nomination. The DP is currently shooting the feature Sex and Death 101, directed by Daniel Waters.
Okada most recently served on the ASC board as a VP, and he also is the ASC Technology Committee’s steering chair. “The art of filmmaking and the evolution of new visual technologies have been inseparably linked from the earliest days of the industry,” Okada related. “Our goal is to help assure that the evolution of technology serves the cinematic arts.”
The ASC’s officers include VPs Michael Goi, ASC, William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC and Caleb Deschanel, ASC, treasurer Victor J. Kemper, ASC, secretary Michael Negrin, ASC and sergeant at arms John Hora, ASC.
The organization’s new board of governors also includes Curtis Clark, ASC, George Spiro Dibie, ASC, Richard Edlund, ASC, Francis Kenny, ASC, Isidore Mankofsky, ASC, Woody Omens, ASC, Nancy Schreiber, ASC, John Toll, ASC, Kees Van Oostrum, ASC, Roy Wagner, ASC and Haskell Wexler, ASC. Alternate members of the board are Victor Kemper, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Stephen Lighthill, ASC, and Robert Primes, ASC.
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More