Native Pictures, a production and creative collective since its inception in 2009, has assembled its first exclusive roster of directors and further diversified with the formation of a feature film division. On the former score, Native has signed directors Ben Briand, Ruben Latre, Luca Guadagnino, Sophie Edelstein and Prmry for U.S. representation in commercials and content.
On the feature front, Native’s new film division is called COTA and headed by EP Michael Costigan, a veteran film producer. COTA has a first-look deal with Sony, offering clients access to film and TV directorial talent.
Costigan has developed and produced assorted notable films, including Brokeback Mountain, and was president of Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free from 2005-2012, where he first met Tomer DeVito, Native Pictures’ managing partner/executive producer. DeVito formerly served as a producer at RSA Films, a sister shop to Scott Free. “Tomer and I share a deep respect and appreciation for the craft of filmmaking, and the team effort behind a successful production,” Costigan said. “We work closely with directors to create memorable films, whether they’re 30 seconds or two hours long. The best commercial directors are great storytellers who make every beat count, while features directors bring the rich language of film to short format. Our company offers the best of both worlds for clients and a great pipeline to opportunities for directors.”
DeVito noted that Native’s commercialmaking foundation helped it to develop repeat business with clients such as Target and Match.com. “Now,” he observed, we offer a roster of accomplished directors with experience in both traditional and digital advertising. Our clients are talking more than ever about making advertising more entertaining.” DeVito added that with COTA under the aegis of Costigan, “we have a conduit to even more talent across features, television and short films.”
Native just wrapped a Target commercial while COTA’s Costigan is in production on A Bigger Splash, which is I Am Love director Guadagnino’s latest feature starring Dakota Johnson and Ralph Fiennes. Another recent project from Guadagnino is Ferragamo’s interactive branded web series Walking Stories. Briand’s latest short, Blood Pulls a Gun, is enjoying a successful film festival run, earning him the Emerging Australian Filmmaker Award at the Melbourne Film Festival after premiering earlier this year at SXSW. Other recent highlights from Native directors include Latre’s series of web films for Samsung’s international social responsibility campaign; Sophie Edelstein’s short I Bamboo You for Gucci’s original “It” Bamboo bag, starring Brit model Clara Paget; and Prmry’s commercials for Nike and Burger King.
Native is represented for commercials by Kevin Batten’s Pop-Arts Mgmt on the West Coast, and MillerStephen in the Midwest, with DeVito currently handling the East Coast.
