Logan & Sons, the live-action division of bicoastal content creation studio LOGAN, has signed filmmaker Eva Doležalová for commercials and branded content in North America. This marks the first career representation for the director in the ad arena.
The L.A.-based Doležalová, a champion of women behind the camera, is a master mood-setter whose films and commercials range from the vibrant and lush to the surreal and experimental. Doležalová’s work grapples with subjects such as female empowerment, personal transformation and the human psyche.
Her short film Carte Blanche, about a young actor navigating sudden fame and starring Dylan Sprouse, Suki Waterhouse and Jack Kilmer, won the Audience Award at the 2019 Mammoth Film Festival and will have its European premiere at the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival in October. Doležalová was recently honored by 7000 magazine for her philanthropic work for the White Ribbon Campaign, an anti-violence against women initiative for which she serves as an ambassador. Her contribution was recognized with a ceremony and screening of her eerie transformational trilogy—Sound of Sun, Somino and Samice—at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Doležalová’s latest commercial work includes campaigns for French scarf maker Les Inconnus and French luxury bag brand Polène. Her new short Anima Us is a love story about two unifying souls based on Carl Jung’s theory of anima and animus.
LOGAN founder Alexei Tylevich said of Doležalová, “She is a fresh voice in the advertising world with strikingly original work and possesses an incredible command on set and rapport with her actors.”
Doležalová released her debut Sound of Sun on NOWNESS in 2016 shortly after relocating from Paris to L.A. The color-drenched dreamlike thriller starring herself, Waterhouse and Sean Penn is a personal story of self-discovery. It was shot in part at architect John Lautner’s celebrated Los Angeles masterpiece, the Sheats-Goldstein residence, and features the work of conceptual artist James Turrell.
Her horror film Butcher Boy, starring Kilmer and Camille Rowe, was released this year by DAZED, and her latest film, Samice, an experimental work about women reclaiming the male gaze, was released on Oct. 1.
Doležalová began acting at the age of 10 and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Doležalová found her true calling behind the camera, honing her craft under the tutelage of acclaimed European indie filmmakers Gaspar Noé and Mike Figgis, as well as Iron Man 3 and The Predator director Shane Black.
Her first feature film, Mantis, is currently in development. The film–set in a Colorado ski town and in the vein of Kafka’s Metamorphisis, and the films Raw and Black Swan–follows the story of a young woman’s physical, mental and sexual transformation into an insect as she hunts down the men who had violated her.
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