Director and photographer Jason van Bruggen has joined Community Films for spots and branded content in the U.S. This marks his first representation in the American ad market. He continues to be handled in Canada by production house Suneeva.
Earlier in his tenure at Suneeva, van Bruggen earned a slot in SHOOT’s 2016 New Directors Showcase.
Van Bruggen is known for his visually arresting landscapes and the ability to elicit emotion from his subjects. Full of natural beauty, found light and an appreciation of the natural world, his work includes commercial narratives and environmental and social campaigns in collaboration with actors and artists around the world, including Jane Fonda, Rachel McAdams, Feist, professional athletes from every major league sport and many other influencers.
The director’s work has been profiled in such publications as National Geographic, Outside Magazine, PDN and Communication Arts, and by brands including Patagonia, Arc’teryx and BestMade Co. Earlier this month, van Bruggen’s PSA for the Government of British Columbia showed the human impact of wildfires and gained inclusion into SHOOT’s The Best Work You May Never See gallery. It was produced by Suneeva for Vancouver, B.C.-based ad agency Camp Pacific.
“Jason’s work is complex and intimate all in one viewing. We can’t wait for his work to be seen and appreciated by a wider audience,” said Lizzie Schwartz, partner and executive producer, Community Films.
Van Bruggen’s immersive storytelling expresses his interest in humanity and an ambition to share authentic and truthful stories. His most recent short film about an Inuit hunter, Derrick Pottle, Keeper of the Flame was filmed in the remote wilderness of Labrador, Nunavut and Greenland. It will premiere at the Banff Mountain Film Festival and air at festivals throughout North America in fall of 2018. His fine art photographic practice has turned out the featured exhibit at Contact Photography Festival 2017, and upcoming solo exhibits in Europe (2019) and the U.S. (2020).
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More