Curious Pictures, headquartered in New York, has signed director Brian Drucker whose background is as an animator and VFX artist. Drucker has worked at a number of top N.Y.-based motion graphics, animation and VFX houses, most recently Freestyle Collective.
He is already at work on his first Curious project, a animated sequence for a feature film being produced by Focus Features.
Drucker is a director/designer with an extensive animation resume that includes art direction, 3D animation/visual effects and compositing. He’s worked as a set designer for live action and theater, and as an exhibit/media designer for museums and live events. His film work combines his background in architecture, design, illustration and photography to create stylized environments and characters.
While at Freestyle Collective, which has since been merged into Nice Shoes, Drucker worked on projects for such brands and media properties as Office Depot, Syfy, Nickelodeon and Fuel TV. As a freelance designer he’s also worked at Rhino, Charlex, Tröllback, Psyop and Loyal Kaspar, among other studios.
“What I like most about Curious is that it’s able to tackle any animation aesthetic–from 3D to stop-motion to traditional to everything in between,” said Drucker. “They’re not afraid of experimenting, and I’m excited about that.”
While he’s had the opportunity to direct some projects prior to joining Curious, this move represents what he calls the next step in his growth as a director. “My goal is to integrate live action and stop motion into my 3D work in unexpected ways, and this is the perfect place from which to do that,” he related. “This is an opportunity for me to let people peer into my imagination, and I’m looking forward to that.”
For Documentaries At Sundance, Oscar Nominations (and Wins) Often Follow
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.
On Thursday night at The Ray Theater, "20 Days in Mariupol" filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who won the Oscar last year, debuted his latest dispatch from Ukraine, "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a harrowing journey to the front lines of a 2023 counteroffensive. A few hours later, at the Eccles, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who won an Oscar for "Summer of Soul" in 2022, unveiled his Sly Stone portrait, "SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genuis)." Earlier, "One Day in September" filmmaker Kevin MacDonald also showcased his film "One to One: John & Yoko," which debuted last year at the Venice Film Festival and will get an IMAX release on April 11 before hitting Max later this year.
Some critics reflected that "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, was even more powerful than "20 Days in Mariupol." "SLY LIVES!" (on Hulu Feb. 13) was called "sublime" and "illuminating" in its examination of an underappreciated, shapeshifting genius.
"I've been coming here since 2000 and I thought the coolest thing you could do would be to DJ an after party," Thompson said before the screening. "I never dreamt this for my future, so this is really humbling."
It was a full-circle end to a day that began with a slate of documentary Oscar nominations all connected to the Sundance Institute in some way. Some were supported by the Institute, some debuted at the festival as recently as last year.
"Black Box Diaries," in which a Japanese filmmaker investigates her own sexual assault, had its premiere in Park City last year and was supported by the... Read More