Multidisciplinary studio Golden LA has signed Paris-based director Mustafa Mazouzi. This marks his first official representation in the U.S.
Mazouzi burst onto the commercial scene in 2016 with the high-energy ad “adidas Boost” which was selected for the Young Director Awards at Cannes. Since then, he’s amassed an impressive body of work for brands including Nike, GMF, and Société Générale, with adidas coming back to him repeatedly.
Like many young directors, Mazouzi started out screenwriting and making short films, first at La Sorbonne et L’Esec. His debut short, the self-produced The Corner, resonated with audiences as a universal story exploring the dynamics between a father and son. The short was named an official selection of The Palm Springs Film Festival, and was followed by his second short I Need Shine, which screened at Sundance.
Handled by Big Productions in Paris, Mazouzi has collaborated with such agencies as TBWAParis, DDB, CLM.BBDO, C14Torce and Fred & Farid. He is also repped in Spain by The Production Club, in the U.K. by Outsider, and for work in eastern Europe and Asia by Germany-based company View-Finder.
Mazouzi is enthused over prospects in the U.S. ad market. “Americans celebrate a visual boldness in storytelling that doesn’t exist elsewhere. I want to make a name for myself where the best work, collaborating with the most innovative agencies and brands.”
On meeting Golden LA EPs Matthew Marquis and Jake Banks, Mazouzi said, “They saw in me the potential and energy to break into this market. Above all, they had a frank, straightforward way of making me feel their confidence. It was clear I could see myself evolving within the young, creativity-first structure they’ve created.”
Golden LA’s multidisciplinary approach is reflected in its roster of live-action directors as well as a collective of designers and visual effects artists.
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