PARK PICTURES' SCHREIER TAPS INTO TALENT POOL
Park Pictures director Jake Schreier enters a freeing watery world in Francis and the Lights’ latest music video entitled, “Never Back.” In the clip, Francis (Francis Farewell Starlite) performs a meditative ritualistic practice in a swimming pool, juxtaposed with the lounge chairs and hammock of the poolside nearby. The song lyrics reference whales who live in the water but still breathe air.
As the video opens, Francis stands on his tiptoes in the brilliant water of a pool with only his nose breaking the surface, then descends to stand on the bottom of the pool. Francis’ geometric shape is emphasized with a visual of his mirrored body standing and legs rising the opposite way, towards the sky. The camera pans out at various points to a tranquil scene where Francis lies in a hammock while his underwater self experiments with movement, attempting to conquer his glittering blue environment. The video was shot at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Schreier is a former Francis and the Lights band member and longtime video collaborator. The band also created the original soundtrack for Park Pictures and Schreier’s award-winning Sundance debut feature Robot & Frank….
STUDENT FINALISTS SET FOR CAS HONOR
Five finalists have been invited to attend the 55th Annual Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Awards where the recipient of the CAS Student Recognition Award will be revealed and presented with a $2,500 check.
Additionally, the 55th CAS Awards will be honoring Steven Spielberg with the CAS Filmmaker Award, and production sound mixer, Lee Orloff, CAS, with the CAS Career Achievement Award. Awards for Outstanding Sound Mixing in seven categories and Outstanding Product Awards in Production and Post-Production will also be presented at the awards ceremony to be held on February 16, 2019 in Los Angeles.
The CAS Student Recognition Award finalists are: Maria Cecilia Ayalde Angel–Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogata, Columbia; Allison Ng–University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Bo Pang–Chapman University, Orange, CA; Anna Wozniewicz–Chapman University, Orange, CA; and Kaylee Yacono–Savannah College of Art and Design,Savannah, GA….
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE….
Thai director Kaenipa “Kay” Phanakorn has joined Great Guns for exclusive global representation except for Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia and India where the company will handle her non-exclusively.
Kay earned a Master of Media Arts from the University of Technology in Sydney, later working as a creative executive at GMM Grammy, the largest media conglomerate entertainment company in Thailand. In 2014, she co-founded the production and branding studio, Wise Lama, where she is producer and director. Nike, Samsung, Chevrolet, Colgate, and Honda are just a few of the high-profile brands she has worked for thus far.
Kay became the first Thai director to make a short film for Cornetto Global’s “Cupidity” project in 2015. The campaign, which consists of a series of short, sweet love stories, won a Cannes Lions in the Branded Content and Entertainment category. The director is also a writer on Netflix’s first Thai Language original series, The Stranded, which launches next year…..
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More