Droga5 earned Agency of the Year distinction and Somesuch was named the top production company at CICLOPE Festival 2019, which concluded on Friday (11/8) in Berlin. Droga5’s work for The New York Times’ “The Truth Is Worth It” campaign scored two of the six Grand Prix honors–specifically for the spots “Perseverance” and “Fearlessness (ISIS),” both directed by Martin+Lindsay of production house Furlined.
The four other Grand Prix honorees at CICLOPE, the international conference and award show dedicated to craft in moving image, were: The National’s “I Am Easy To Find” directed by Mike Mills, produced by MJZ; HECATE’s “What Happened?” helmed by Yukihoro Shoda, produced by CONNECTION + Soda! Communications; the short film The Walking Fish directed by Thessa Meijer, produced by HALAL; and Essity’s “Viva La Vulva” directed by Kim Gehrig of Somesuch for AMV BBDO, London.
While Somesuch garnered the Production Company of the Year mantle, Gehrig won for the year’s best director.
Electric Theatre Collective was named VFX Company of the Year. Work Editorial was recognized as Editing Company of the Year, Wave Studios as Sound Company of the Year, and Soundtree Music as Music Company of the Year.
For a full rundown of CICLOPE 2019 winners, click here.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More