Director Marco Gentile has joined The Institute, the production company headed by director Michael Bay and executive producer Scott Gardenhour. Gentile continues to be repped internationally by Wanda in France and Filmmaster in Italy and Spain.
Having been heavily involved in the art, film and fashion industries in his native Italy, Gentile was awarded the prestigious Fulbright scholarship to pursue an advanced degree at Emerson in Boston. Accordingly, Gentile moved stateside and earned a Master’s in Media Arts. He went on to spend time in Los Angeles honing his craft, establishing himself over the years as a director, becoming sought after in different disciplines, including fashion filmmaking.
Gentile’s ode to the legacy of the rock star for Rolling Stone magazine won a Silver Lion at the 2010 Cannes International Advertising. His directorial credits span such clients as Adidas, Mercedes Benz, Sky, Carrera and Tod’s.
Prior to The Institute, Gentile was repped in the U.S. by DNA via that company’s relationship with London-based production house Stamp, which at the time handled him in the U.K.
Gardenhour and Bay founded The Institute in 2001. The company has gone on to create and produce effective marketing and multi-media productions for global brand leaders such as Nike, Chevy, EA, Hallmark, Asahi, Burger King, Mercedes Benz and Victoria Secret.
Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson
It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.
Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.
For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More