Interrogate, the L.A./New York/Sydney-based production company, has added Oscar-winning filmmakers The Fines–the wife-and-husband team of Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine–to its roster for spot and branded content representation in the U.S. and Australia.
In addition to their Oscar pedigree, The Fines have also won Emmy and Peabody Awards. The Washington D.C. residents met while they were both working for National Geographic and quickly bonded over a shared sense of storytelling — focusing on the personal, visceral, and sensory.
Sean’s filmic lineage spans three generations; grandfather Nate Fine was the team photographer for the Washington Redskins for 51 seasons, and Sean carried that torch for three seasons along its sidelines thereafter. The legacy continued within his parents as the shooting/producing duo for CBS and 60 Minutes. For Andrea, her lifelong dream to make adventure films came to life when she walked through Nat Geo’s doors. From shooting an Inuit polar bear trek across Greenland, to directing a film about a 1000-pound Nile croc in Tanzania, she zigzagged across the world for the next decade capturing magnificent adventure and profound cultural moments.
The Fines’ artistic partnership began sometime after the birth of their two sons, when they learned about thousands of child soldiers abducted in war-torn Uganda and decided to tell that remarkable story. And the world listened. War Dance–which focused on three children who live in a displacement camp in northern Uganda and go on to compete in their country’s national music and dance festival–would go on to earn the Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. The film screened at festivals worldwide, winning the Documentary Directing Award at Sundance and Emmys for Best Cinematography and Best Documentary.
Realizing the power of film to make change, The Fines flourished in creating documentaries that garnered as much attention for their beauty as for their message. They won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary in 2013 with their film Inocente, and their HBO film Life According to Sam made the Oscar shortlist, earning a Peabody and an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Inocente told the story of a homeless teenager in Southern California who never gives up on her dream of being an artist. The young, talented artist came up on stage with the directors when they accepted their Oscars.
The Fines attribute their creative success to their romantic foundation. They’ve forged a partnership built on trust, collaboration, and listening, and foster a creatively open environment on every type of project they work on.
The Fines have brought their signature authenticity to the commercial world, working with clients as varied as Northrop Grumman, Panera, the Smithsonian, Gatorade, and more. Their penchant for grounded, people-based storytelling across the world shines through in the campaign they helmed for Gillette, for which they traveled to seven countries in five weeks, immersing in the local customs of each region. Prior to joining Interrogate, The Fines were most recently handled by Superprime Films for spots and branded content.
The Fines were drawn to Interrogate based on its people. The directors described their initial meeting with the company’s managing director/founder Jeff Miller and EP George Meeker, recalling, “They responded to the essence of what we find meaningful and fulfilling. What we hope people notice creatively about our work, they noticed. Jeff and George immediately understood the strengths of our past projects and the direction that we want to move forward into.”
The directorial duo is looking forward to growing with Interrogate as they explore new creative avenues and outlets. The Fines are currently in development on two narrative feature projects and a broadcast series, while also developing a Broadway musical and launching a social impact studio.
