Sibling Films–part of the NY and L.A.-based brand studio and production company Sibling Rivalry–has added Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah to its roster of directors.
Hailing from a small town in New Jersey, Dawson-Amoah brings a fresh perspective to storytelling, shaped by her upbringing as the daughter of immigrant parents from Ghana and St. Lucia. The rich tapestry of the cultures she embodies is reflected in her work. Dawson-Amoah is an alum of SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase. She made the Showcase cut in 2021 when she was with Greenpoint Pictures. The director now embarks on a new career chapter at Sibling.
Dawson-Amoah has collaborated with various celebrities such as Janelle Monae, Megan Thee Stallion, Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen, Queen Latifa, and many more. Her latest commercial endeavor comes from Droga5, where she collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion for the Seize the Awkward campaign from the Ad Council. Dawson-Amoah has also directed for MTV, IKEA, AT&T’s "Black Futures," Cricket Wireless, and Lincoln Motors, among other global brands.
Dawson-Amoah said, “I’m all about pushing boundaries and not sticking to the same old rules. I’m a storyteller who likes to think outside the box. At Sibling Rivalry, they celebrate being unique, so it felt like the perfect place for me to spread my creative wings across projects for both Sibling Films and their brand studio.”
Beyond directing, Dawson-Amoah is also a scriptwriter and voiceover artist, often combining all three elements to bring a holistic vision and approach to her projects. As a recent MacDowell fellow, she will delve into all three more deeply during her winter residency.
Darren Foldes, partner and managing director at Sibling Films, said, “Ewurakua is exceptionally gifted at finding the truth in a scene and eliciting authentic performances while simultaneously creating vibrant and dynamic worlds. She has a distinct ability to genuinely connect with people, translating to films that leave a lasting impression.
“Ewurakua is exceptional in her prowess at directing, writing, and voice work,” he continued. “This makes her an incredibly exciting addition to our directorial roster. Her body of work transcends typical advertising conventions and her natural flair at being both a true collaborator and infectious leader is something that’s incredibly hard to achieve, even over years in the business.”
Dawson-Amoah’s work has been recognized in numerous film competitions, including the Fusion Film Festival, Raindance Festival, Cinequest, Toronto Black Film Festival, NFFTY, and with the Tony Hawkins Award for Excellence in Sound Design. In August of 2020, her short film To the Girl That Looks Like Me was named a finalist in the Alternative/Experimental category of the 2020 Student Academy Awards, which was part of the Scene in Color Film Series, presented by Target and designed to shine a light on emerging filmmaking talent.
Dawson-Amoah is passionate about building community across and access for BIPOC creatives. She founded The Melacast Network, a platform to connect actors, directors, and crew of color with opportunities and resources to network and tell their stories.
“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 à 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