Director and photographer Jess Kohl has joined the talent roster at Love Song, the production house founded by Kelly Bayett and Daniel Wolfe.
Love Song’s incredible roster of talent. Jess’ ability to tell thought-provoking stories with a unique visual identity makes her directorial eye an invaluable asset to any campaign or creative project.
Born in London, Kohl has turned out work often focusing on underrepresented voices, which she seeks to amplify through nuanced and poignant storytelling via a distinctive cinematic lens. She carries her artistic mission to her commercial film work with many global brands, including Nike, Speedo, On Running, Google, WhatsApp, and Carhartt.
After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Kohl completed a Masters in cinematography. Her films and photography have been featured in many renowned publications such as Dazed, Another Magazine, British Journal of Photography, Nowness, The Face, Vogue, i-D, and many more.
Her award-winning short films include A Mouthful of Petrol, a coming-of-age documentary following a father and son who share a passion for banger racing. The film won Golden Frog for Best Documentary Short at Camerimage and premiered at IDFA. In 2019, she won Best Director and Best Documentary at the Milan Fashion Film Festival for Nirvana, a short film about Koovagam Festival, the largest gathering of transgender women in Asia. In addition, Kohl’s films Disciples and Anarchy in the Philippines have also been nominated for numerous awards, including the Grierson.
Kohl said, “I’ve admired the work that Love Song has been creating since their inception. The culture that Daniel and Kelly have created feels original and exciting – their uniquely collaborative approach, diverse roster, and method of nurturing talent is something that I’m so excited to be a part of. The work is creatively bold and distinct, yet very human, which perfectly aligns with who I am as a filmmaker. I can’t wait to start creating together!”
“I love how Jess sees the world,” said director Wolfe. “Her sensitivity to her subjects, her compassionate approach – she captures life in a beautiful way. I’m excited to work with her.”
Prior to joining Love Song, Kohl was repped in the U.S. by PRETTYBIRD, which continues to handle her in the U.K. market.
“Joker” Goes On A Dark and Fantastical Musical Journey–With Lady Gaga
"Joker" is a hard act to follow. Todd Phillips' dark, Scorsese-inspired character study about the Batman villain made over a billion dollars at the box office, won Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar, dominated the cultural discourse for months and created a new movie landmark.
It wasn't for everyone, but it got under people's skin.
Knowing that it was a fool's errand to try to do it again, Phillips and Phoenix pivoted, or rather, pirouetted into what would become " Joker: Folie ร Deux." The dark and fantastical musical journey goes deeper into the mind of Arthur Fleck as he awaits trial for murder and falls in love with a fellow Arkham inmate, Lee, played by Lady Gaga. There is singing, dancing and mayhem.
If Phillips and Phoenix have learned anything over the years, it's that the scarier something is, the better. So once again they rebelled against expectations and went for broke with something that's already sharply divided critics.
As with the first, audiences will get to decide for themselves when it opens in theaters on Oct. 4.
"HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET JOAQUIN PHOENIX TO DO A SEQUEL?"
Any comic book movie that makes a billion dollars is going to have the sequel talk. But with "Joker" it was never a given that it would go anywhere: Joaquin Phoenix doesn't do sequels. Yet it turned out, Phoenix wasn't quite done with Arthur Fleck yet either.
During the first, the actor wondered what this character would look like in different situations. He and the on-set photographer mocked up classic movie posters, like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Yentl" with the Joker in them and showed them to Phillips.
"Sometimes you're just done with something and other times you have an ongoing interest,"... Read More