Stink Films, which continues to handle director Douglas Bernardt internationally, has now expanded that relationship to cover the U.S. for commercials and music videos. This marks Bernardt’s first representation in the American ad market as Stink becomes his exclusive production roost worldwide.
Among Bernardt’s highlights this year was the short film Bluesman for Baco Exu do Blues’ eponymous album. The film explores racism, diversity, and violence in a unique and illuminating portrait of Rio life through the eyes of a gregarious young man. Although it involved an inherently Brazilian topic and artist, the piece attained global acclaim as reflected in such honors as the Grand Prix in Entertainment for Music at the Cannes Lions, 2019 D&AD Awards, and the Grand Prix at Ciclope Latino 2019.
Daniel Bergmann, Stink Films’ founder, said, “Having started his career as a cinematographer in Brazil, Douglas has gone on to create a name for himself internationally. It’s a journey that we are incredibly proud of and wish to continue with this U.S. signing. Douglas represents the growth capacity of Stink across the world.”
Bernardt shared, “Stink has been my home for years. Since the very beginning of my career as a filmmaker, they have given me the necessary support to develop my ideas and projects. I’m very grateful for this and happy to now explore new possibilities in the U.S with my film family.”
Bernardt’s commercial work includes projects for Fiat, Corona, and Samsung.
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More