Jonas Arnby–whose advertising work over the years has garnered Cyber Lion, Eurobest, Clio, Creative Circle and Mobius Award recognition–has joined HSI Productions for representation in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, the latter coming via HSI’s relationship with Industry Films. Arnby continues to be repped in France by Les Producers and in Spain through Mandarin Media.
Arnby had previously been handled stateside by Madheart and prior to that TWC. His spot filmography spans clients across Europe and the U.S., including such brands as Sprite, Harley-Davidson, Unilever, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Quiksilver and Peugeot as well as public service fare for the Children’s Cancer Fund and the Danish Traffic Council.
The director’s storytelling encompasses the comedic and dramatic, as evidenced, respectively, in spots for phone company Fonecta and the Danish Traffic Council. In the former–which is titled “Who Is It?”–a man answers the phone but no one is on the line. He proceeds to pull the phone wire up from the ground, starting him on a long trek which eventually leads him to the caller.
For the Danish Traffic Council, we see a young man walking with a pronounced limp. The camera reveals that a corpse is clinging to his leg, a metaphorical representation of a friend who was killed in a traffic accident due to the limping man’s carelessness. Titled “Dead Man Walking,” the PSA won honors at the UN World road safety film festival as well as best film distinction at the Geneva fest.
Arnby has also been active in the short film discipline, a prime example being The Man Who Was A Shoe–Among Other Things, which won second place for Best European Short in Portugal.
Originally from Denmark, Arnby attended the Danish School of still photography and then moved to London where he studied directing at the London School of Communication. He then attended Super 16, a four-year film school self-assembled by its students and faculty as a creatively cutting-edge alternative to the National Danish Film School.
Arnby, his wife and daughter continue to make their home in Copenhagen.
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