Integrated production company 1stAveMachine has added director Ben Steiger Levine to its roster. Levine comes over to the New York-based house from bicoastal aWHITELABELproduct; he continues to be handled in Canada by Spy Films, Toronto.
Getting his start in Canada, where he received multiple grants to produce his short films, Levine has since successfully diversified into directing music videos and commercials.
Levine’s films often border on bizarre and beautiful, hinting at themes of humanity and existence through clever re-imagination of the human form. His filmography includes Heavens to Purgatory where deconstructed bodies act as living decoration, and “You Are Never Alone” for the band Socalled where the lead artist’s face is re-appropriated as a film projector.
“Mr. Hurricane,” Levine’s Grammy Award-nominated music video for Beast, helped gain him inclusion into Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase in 2009. In the clip, a swarm of bees discovers its own fleeting human soul. That ’09 Saatchi Showcase, incidentally, also featured work from 1stAveMachine directors Aaron Duffy and Antonio Balseiro.
“I love to experiment in my work. 1stAveMachine is a great place for me, because they’re always pushing the envelope and doing the most interesting stuff,” said Levine.
Serge Patzak, 1stAveMachine’s co-founder, noted that Levine’s work “translates well across many platforms” spanning traditional and non-traditional media.
DGA Feature Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet and Mangold
The field of feature nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards spanning two categories is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 are: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
The DGA also revealed the nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. The first-time narrative feature directors are: Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light, Megan Park for My Old Ass, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, Halfdan Ullman Tondel for Armand, and Sean Wang for Diddy.
“2024 has been a truly extraordinary year for storytelling--and today’s nominees have created audacious and unique films that expand the possibilities of cinematic excellence,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “I am thrilled to congratulate all our nominated directors for their brilliant work, which is visionary, inspirational and speaks to the depth of the human experience. To be chosen by one’s peers is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement and what makes these nominations so very special.”
The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8.
Here’s a fuller rundown of the nominees in both DGA Award categories:
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
JACQUES AUDIARD
Emilia Pérez
(Netflix)
SEAN... Read More