Nonfiction Unlimited, a commercial production company that represents accomplished documentary directors, has added Jason Benjamin to its roster. Benjamin’s first documentary feature Suited was selected for screening at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and aired this summer on HBO. The film was produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Koner, the creators and producers of the award-winning HBO show Girls.
Suited is about the bespoke tailors at the Brooklyn-based Bindle & Keep, whose clientele include a diverse LGBTQ community. The film introduces viewers to clothiers Rae and Daniel who take a holistic approach to their work as they fit a fascinating and unique ensemble of customers. The documentary explores how the need for well-fitting garments represents deeper meaning around identity, empowerment, and feeling good.
Benjamin also recently directed “In Conversation,” a series of social videos for Gemfields featuring fashion and make-up bloggers Amanda Steele, Ciprianna Quan and Chriselle Lim that launched last week on Made to Measure or M2M, an online fashion video network also carried on iOS, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Xbox.
“Jason tells real stories with intelligence and cinematic clarity, drawing viewers into authentic emotional experiences,” said Loretta Jeneski, partner and executive producer at Nonfiction. “We’re thrilled to be introducing him to the world of commercials.”
Benjamin related, “Documentary filmmaking for me is all about being an observer, a listener. It’s a unique way of creating narratives that transcends style and reveals higher truths. I’m super excited to be bringing my documentary background to commercials, and honored to be joining Nonfiction’s incredible A-List of directors. All of them have been my role models, from Steve James to Barbara Kopple.”
Benjamin received a BA in sculpture and an MFA in documentary film at The City University of New York. In conjunction with the Sarasota Film Festival, he will be teaching military veterans the theory and practice of filmmaking in October and November in Sarasota, Florida.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More