Emerald Pictures has entered into a partnership with Swedish production company Camp David to represent its roster of directors in the U.S.
The alliance expands the global reach of L.A.-headquartered Emerald Pictures which gains access to Stockholm-based Camp David’s filmmakers who include co-founders Robert Jitzmark and Sebastian Reed. This marks the first time that Reed and Jitzmark have been repped as Camp David directors together at the same U.S. company. Each had earlier in their careers been individually handled in the American advertising market–including Reed by Believe Media.
Mara Milićević, Emerald Pictures’ co-founder and managing director, said, “Emerald has always been imagined as a global company since the very beginning, and this partnership (with Camp David) represents not only a continuation, but an expansion of that vision. To see our family of filmmakers grow in this way is incredibly fulfilling and exciting.”
Emerald co-founder John Duffin feels his shop is simpatico with Camp David. “Over the past twenty years, Camp David has earned the reputation of being on the cutting edge of filmmaking, with a tremendous ability to nurture talent, which to me is so important. They share our love of immersive storytelling, and a dedication to the art of film craft.”
Camp David’s Reed observed that his company’s success “over time is due in no small part to our belief in respect, trust and openness during the collaborative process. We realized quickly after meeting Emerald that we were like-minded there. They never want to stop learning, being challenged, or push boundaries within filmmaking, and we can’t wait to start creating with them.”
Kristina Wibom, co-owner and executive producer at Camp David, shared, “Whilst this partnership expands both companies’ international footprint, we are also super excited that Mara and John’s boutique approach to representing directors will always mean championing artistic integrity above all. This was something we looked far and wide for before the happy discovery of Emerald Pictures, who clearly have their finger on the pulse within the dynamic and influential U.S. market.”
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