Kaboom productions has signed director Christian Riebe for exclusive U.S. representation. This is the first American market signing for the director, who has worked extensively throughout Europe and Asia. His commercials span such brands as Sony Bravia, Miele, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and LG.
When Riebe was 15 years old, he contributed to filmmaking for the first time as part of the art department in a feature production. It was a life changing experience and marked the moment he fell in love with the industry. Working in various capacities in feature film and TV series production over the next few years, Riebe gained deep experience in the filmmaking process before enrolling in an advertising program at Germany’s Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. While studying, he became a VFX supervisor–an asset to his future as a director at a time when visual effects were becoming increasingly central to the process. He has contributed his unique eye and multifaceted experience to creating spots with cinematic style and quality.
Riebe explained that he became interested in kaboom after copious research on U.S. production companies. He was drawn to the company’s roster of directors, its brand and personality, prompting him to reach out to Schwartz.
Admittedly skeptical of blind queries, Schwartz found herself returning to watch Riebe’s reel again and again, taking the opportunity for an in-person meeting while in Los Angeles. “As we talked, I discovered that he possesses a wonderful balance of experience and youthful enthusiasm, and brings with him the unique ability to infuse work with a European sensibility and be accessible here as he splits his time between Germany, France and LA.”
Riebe recalled, “When I met Lauren, I understood that the spirit of kaboom was genuine and there’s a true passion for the process and industry.”
A woman-owned content production company, kaboom maintains offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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