Backyard Productions, headquartered in Venice, has extended its reach internationally, launching a full-service office in Cape Town, South Africa. Dubbed Backyard SA, the new venture is a partnership with veteran executive producer Janette De Villiers who will act as the company’s managing director and will continue to separately maintain Groundglass, her South African production service company.
Groundglass has produced hundreds of international jobs over the years, including many for Backyard. Backyard SA will offer Backyard’s director roster to the South African advertising community and will serve as a resource for American advertisers wanting to shoot overseas.
“We’re partnering with a like- minded person in Janette,” said Blair Stribley, Backyard’s president/partner. “She has the personality and energy that fits right in with the Backyard brand, and Janette is known internationally for her exceptional production track record. This move gives our clients a great alternative location to consider shooting.”
De Villiers said of introducing Backyard’s roster to South Africa, “Creatively, they’re a very good fit for this market. More and more American advertisers want to shoot here and now they can with a trusted brand.”
In recent years, Backyard has gotten a lot of interest from clients considering production in South Africa which offers diverse locations, top-level crews, a deep acting pool and a very production-friendly environment. Plus, U.S. advertising dollars stretch further with the value of the dollar against the Rand.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More