Girl Culture Films has added photographer and director Peggy Sirota–famous for her work with A-list celebrities and her energetic, authentic style of visual storytelling–to its roster. Among her accomplishments, Sirota set a new standard for automotive advertising with her work for Volvo, introducing a humanistic, lifestyle-oriented aesthetic to a category that had previously been focused on steel and speed. She went on to direct spots for clients ranging from Target, Amazon, and Coca-Cola to Clorox, Chrysler, Lane Bryant, and Clairol, among many others.
“As a photographer, I have long looked up to Peggy’s iconic images and her ability to seamlessly translate her signature moments, serendipity, and joy into the moving image. Her connection with her subjects comes through in every frame, and her lighthearted optimism and love of life are the perfect antidote to 2020,” said filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, who co-founded Girl Culture Films in 2019 to develop and produce boundary-breaking commercials, branded content, documentary and scripted films helmed by A-list female and non-binary directors. “Peggy’s prolific film work telegraphs empowerment and self-acceptance in beautiful, aesthetic images that provoke a smile.”
Prior to joining Girl Culture Films, Sirota had most recently been represented by Rocket Film. She said of her new production house roost, “I cannot wait to make an imprint here. I intend to add an honest, optimistic, and playful dimension to this very inspiring and select group of visionaries.”
A renowned photographer, Sirota has produced remarkable portraits of notable names across entertainment, politics, and culture–including Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Rami Malek, Michelle Obama, Madonna, the Dalai Lama, Mariah Carey, Brie Larson, and countless others, and her work has been published in major magazines worldwide. Sirota’s effervescence and warmth on set enable her to draw equally compelling performances from non-celebrities, mining a wealth of storytelling possibilities.
“Peggy’s work has so many applications in advertising, as she is able to bring forth her unique visual style and exuberance across traditional categories of fashion, lifestyle, automotive, celebrity, and documentary,” said Greenfield.
Sirota, whom British Vogue crowned one of the “Top Female Fashion Photographers,” has been widely honored for her work, winning awards from Communications Arts, American Photography, and the Art Directors Club, as well as Columbia University’s prestigious Alfred Eisenstaedt Award. In 2000, venerable art-book publisher Steidl released Peggy Sirota: Guess Who, a star-studded monograph generating proceeds which benefited AIDS Project LA.
“Representing Peggy is a dream come true for us. Her visual mastery, natural ease with her beloved subjects, and her core multi-platform storytelling principles make her a perfect Girl Culture Films director,” said Frank Evers, president of Girl Culture Films.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More