Director Juliana Curi has secured her first representation in the U.S., signing with bicoastal production company Honor Society for commercials and entertainment.
Curi brings a distinctive visual orientation to gender exploration and the representation of the female figure in modern media, heavily influenced by social cinema and feminist roots. With a commitment to female empowerment, Curi delivers brand stories that explore gender, cultural, and social topics and aim to shift multicultural points of view. Her career thus far has spanned work for such clients as Mastercard, Sony, Avon and Dove as well as the art exhibitions Pink Intervention at Spotte Art NY and Battle of the Body at Centro Cultural São Paulo, which won the Brazilian National Commission for Cultural Incentive Prize. Currently Curi is in development with Honor Society on a documentary series, Almighty Hair, which will explore feminine identity in a visually astonishing manner, through the most universal subject of all: hair.
Brazil born and bred, Curi has paved the way for female representation and social-cultural impacts projects within her home country. In 2018, she directed the Film-Manifesto “Stereotypes” to launch “More Grls.” the first roadmap to female talent in Brazil which aims to fight gender inequality. Her last project for P&G received a special recognition at UN Women as the best work in Latin America that seeks to bring down gender stereotypes.
Curi began her career in the creative department of MTV Brazil, developing campaigns for timely social issues, such as HIV, politics, and citizenship. She currently resides in Los Angeles, and her projects includes the aforementioned exhibition Pink Intervention exhibition, and the performance program Dynamic encounters at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
Honor Society founder and executive producer Megan Kelly said, “The refined perspective that Juliana brings to her work in both advertising and film provides dynamic cultural commentary that incites meaningful conversations.”
Curi added, “In Honor Society, I found an amazing creative space to keep building my work and continue telling stories that raise women’s voices and underrepresented narratives. Honor Society is a production company aligned with contemporary values, in which we understand that it’s possible to have cultural and commercial relevance while still creating authentic and powerful stores that embrace multiple genders, races, sexual orientations, and cultures.”
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