Film and commercial production company Cutter Productions, a New York-based shop under the aegis of EP Hillary Cutter, has signed director Nika Offenbac.
Offenbac brings more than a decade of experience in postproduction, animation and visual effects, serving in varied capacities. As a creative director Offenbac has led tour visuals for Skrillex, Tiesto and Theivery Corporation. Her animated films have screened at the Lincoln Center, the Kunsthaus Graz (Austria), and LACMA. She has executive produced rebrands, show packages, promos and campaigns for the likes of truTV, Amazon, Netflix, FX, & HBO. Offenbac’s hybrid talents as a director and producer have also established her as a documentarian working in the feature and television space. As a commercial director she has directed spots and campaigns for Evian, Airbnb, Sears, Ubisoft, Nestle and TBS, among others.
Offenbac was drawn to Cutter Productions not only for its filmmaking artistry but also for its working mission to empower women in all fields of entertainment. EP Cutter has been a fierce advocate for equal, representative and diverse hiring practices in film for over 15 years and runs a women’s mentorship group for up and coming NY directors, editors, writers, and mixers, eponymously named Cutter Connections.
In the big picture, Offenbac cited storytelling as a driving force throughout her career. She identified the stories “we tell others, but also the ones we tell ourselves. Some are entertaining, or clever or beautiful. Others are challenging or just interesting. As a director, my primary responsibility is to that story, both in the telling and the making. Because HOW you create ultimately IS what you create. It’s possible to make a living as an artist but if you’re going to do something, do it big, and do it with compassion and collaborators.”
Cutter shared, “I’ve been admiring Nika from afar for the past 10 years and have always been impressed with her multifaceted ability to do everything from creatively leading animation projects to helming live-action shoots to executive producing long-form content. As more clients look to Cutter to lead projects from development through post, it’s important for us to evolve our creative team and Nika’s expertise in creative direction and long-form content make her an invaluable addition to our roster. It also goes without saying that Nika’s passion for building diverse teams both onset and in postproduction as well as working with our mentorship program to help guide and nurture the next generation of media makers makes her a perfect match for Cutter.”
Prior to joining Cutter Productions, Offenbac was an executive producer/partner/director at And/Or Studios.
