Production house Florence has signed director Jay Walker for U.S. representation covering live-action projects. The Berlin-based filmmaker is meanwhile handled for virtual production and visual effects work in the U.S. by Impossible Objects, having recently come aboard that shop’s roster.
Walker’s commercial clients include Dell, Fortnite and Coachella, and she’s directed music videos for assorted European musicians, as well artists on the world stage like Lazer Viking, Zef, and Diplo.
Walker fell in love with filmmaking early on. Born and raised in the American Southwest, Walker was a child actor cast in commercials, TV series, and feature films before she began creating characters and worlds of her own. She started directing short format films, relocated to the Czech Republic, and eventually graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in Cinema from the Czech National Film School, FAMU. Walker also learned the Czech language, which has enabled her to thrive as one of the few women directors working in the commercial space in Prague. Her directing career has taken her all across Europe and the United States.
“Florence is an incredibly exciting studio to be a part of,” said Walker on her signing. “The leadership are knowledgeable, generous collaborators, and based on their diverse roster and brave body of work, Florence feels like the perfect fit for my style and the work I hope to make.”
“Jay Walker is quickly making a name for herself,” said Jerad Anderson, founder and EP of Los Angeles-based creative studio Florence. “Her creativity, emotional intelligence, impeccable taste, and deep knowledge of all facets of the filmmaking craft means that she is quite a force, yet her relaxed demeanor and collaborative leadership style brings teams together, inspires confidence in clients, and brings out the best of everyone around her. She truly is a rare talent, and we look forward to our clients and collaborators discovering what it’s like to work with Jay.”
Walker has been an early adopter of advanced virtual production tools such as Unreal Engine. She is an expert on advanced motion graphics and animation, often combining these disciplines with live action to create her signature look. Walker has frequently collaborated with 3D artist and musician NIVVA, whose artistic presence is as a digital avatar.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More