Production house DECON has signed director Van Black for U.S. commercial representation. The New York-based filmmaker, photographer and multimedia artist celebrates people as everyday heroes in work spanning commercial, episodic series, long-form narrative and interactive media projects. Black has turned out content for such brands as Gap, Absolut, Playtex and Cadillac. Her “Be a Witness: VIACOM x Witness” projection mapping project earned a 2016 PromaxBDA Award for Best PSA Campaign. Most recently, she worked with New York-based agency Yard on an Athleta campaign featuring a group of cancer survivors who have found community, belonging, and renewed hope through their crew team.
Beyond branded work, Black–who was previously repped by Killer Films Media for commercials–has also helmed assorted cause-driven projects under her own ongoing banner, BLKFLM, working with the likes of Al Gore, The United Nations, UNICEF, Appian Way and teen activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez along with scores of passion projects, including conflict journalism during events such as the Ukrainian Revolution. Leveraging a counterculture lens to examine politics, Black’s work has earned widespread media recognition, landing in such outlets as National Geographic, CNN, VICE, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Esquire, Mic, Upworthy, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, i-D Magazine, BuzzFeed, MSNBC, The Guardian and the BBC. A lifelong storyteller, Black holds a B.A. in film production from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
“Van has her hands on so many types of projects and has really been able to team up with some incredible people, agencies, and brands to tell powerful stories in many mediums that somehow are weighty and important while still managing to find that thread of entertainment and lightness,” noted Misha Louy, DECON executive producer.
Black said, “DECON has a fun and creative atmosphere and they really have their finger on the pulse of what is interesting. I’m pumped to be a part of such a young, culture-driven company that just gets it and also extends their reach to music, long form and documentary projects outside of commercials.”
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