Director Harold Einstein has opened a production company with his longtime executive producer, Eric Liney. Called DUMMY, the new venture is based in Venice and ends Einstein's six-year run at Station Film where he has directed commercials for clients including Kayak.com, Axe, Little Caesars, FedEx, Luvs, Target, Crest and Johnnie Walker. His work has been a fixture at Cannes since he began at Station.
The decision to open his own shop, said Einstein–who moved back to his native California from Brooklyn in July–was motivated by friends. "I watched Gerry [Graf] open Barton F. Graf9000, editors open post houses, composers open music houses, and Steve O [Stephen Orent] open Station Film. The one thing I noticed and continue to see among all of them is a gleam in their eyes. That gleam comes from them knowing that they own the key. I wanted to experience what it was like to make stuff in an environment I created to make stuff in."
Still, Einstein is grateful for his tenure at Station. "Without Station I wouldn't be in the position to do what I've just done: open a company. If you want to be a director, if you want to be a producer, there is no better school than Station Film."
Orent stated, "It's been a fun ride working with Harold over the past six years. Although we will miss him here at Station Film, we wish him the best of luck with his new company."
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More