Park Pictures has signed the multi-faceted directing duo known as Jungle. This marks the directors’ first commercial representation in the U.S. Internationally Jungle is repped by Blink in the U.K., Rebolucion in Latin America, Untitled in Brazil, and TPF in Germany.
Jungle is composed of two Brazilian-born filmmakers who reconnected a decade after meeting at university to combine their passions of visual arts and postproduction to tell fantastic, disruptive stories. With a strong emphasis on audiovisuals and visual effects, Jungle’s narratives provoke an emotionally charged tension that transports viewers to another world. Jungle’s diverse client list includes Electronic Arts (EA), Netflix, Jägermeister, Nike, and Uber.
Jungle has scored varied accolades, such as recognition at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and Silver and Wood Pencils at D&AD, also this year. Their work for Jägermeister, “Trapped,” which earned them the Gold British Arrow for Best New Director 2020, is an especially mesmerizing film that follows a man as he’s suspended in everyday life. Around a minimalist cityscape and through the use of visual effects, the actor’s body contorts, floating just above the ground in mid-air, as in a pool or zero-gravity tank. When the beat in the cutting-edge audio inevitably drops, the subject breaks free from this surrealist affliction, bursting to life with energy. To the audience, it’s like a breath of fresh air after being submerged in the weightiness and mundanity of day-to-day existence.
Jungle’s latest project, “Matchday For The World’s Game,” for EA Sports FIFA 2023 out of Wieden+Kennedy Portland, was released earlier this month. Starring Kylian Mbappe, Sam Kerr, Zinedine Zidane, Jack Grealish, and Chloe Kelly, the film is EA Sports’ final FIFA ad before the game rebrands to EA Sports FC next year.
“Park’s reputation is impeccable. We are very excited about our arrival, and (company co-founders) Jackie (Bisbee) and Lance (director/DP Acord) are exceptional; we love their approach as a production company focused on telling compelling and meaningful stories. For us, it’s a big honor to be on a roster with such incredible and talented visual storytellers.”
Park founding partner Bisbee added, “Jungle’s work has the power to shift perspective. There’s a magical and mysterious element to their work. Their complementary backgrounds enable them to push ideas further and their shared cultural and artistic references blend to form their distinctive, engaging vision.”
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More