Production company DECON has signed sibling directing duo the Mundo Sisters for U.S. commercial representation. Rena Mundo Croshere and Nadine Mundo’s cinematic storytelling captures raw, arresting visuals and emotionally charged, authentic narratives. Their short film Rowdy Ronda Rousey for ESPN Films made a major splash in the sports world, premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival and becoming the most viewed short film in ESPN history upon its release.
Following that short, ESPN commissioned the Mundo sisters to helm the film series What Makes Us that highlights elite female athletes. The Mundo Sisters’ 2013 feature documentary American Commune–about their childhood on a rural Tennessee commune and their culture shock upon leaving it–premiered to critical acclaim at the HotDocs International Film Festival and was later broadcast on Al Jazeera America and released on Amazon.
The directorial duo got its start at MTV, creating and directing My Life (Translated) and directing the Emmy-winning documentary series, True Life. The Mundo Sisters were awarded grants from Women in Film, New York State Council of the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, the Jerome Foundation and Robert F. Kennedy Fellowship.
The Mundo Sisters earlier were on the roster of Biscuit Filmworks. Now at DECON, they will work with, among others, partner/executive producer Misha Louy, who said, “The Mundo Sisters are not only a great fit for us stylistically, but they really have the smarts and drive to excel in the direction where filmmaking and advertising are headed. They create such well-manicured work that exemplifies their ease and intention for crafting beautiful and interesting storytelling.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More