The directing team of Josh Gordon and Will Speck—a.k.a. Speck.Gordon—has joined Omaha Pictures, Santa Monica. The duo had previously been with bicoastal RSA USA….Director Ago Panini has come aboard bicoastal Moxie Pictures for exclusive U.S. representation. He continues to be handled in Italy by Film Master, Rome and Milan….Director Clay Staub is joining bicoastal commercial production house Cylo tvc. He was formerly repped by now defunct The End….Director Nicolai Fuglsig has signed with bicoastal First Look Artists for spot representation in the U.S. Based in Copenhagen, Fuglsig has gained recent recognition on the strength of a short film he helmed for Levi’s that has been playing in Europe….Chris Nelson, who’s worked as a producer the past four years primarily for Ritts/Hayden, has launched a directing career, signing for spot and music video representation with the Los Angeles-based production house….Designer/ director Derich Wittliff, formerly of now-defunct Pittard Sullivan, has joined motion design and commercial production company m.o.d., Los Angeles….New York animation/design studio Pitch has added director/designer Lucy Blackwell to its roster….William Daniels won’t seek re-election as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is endorsing Valerie Harper to succeed him. Other candidates include Melissa Gilbert, Eugene Boggs and Angel Tompkins. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed to SAG membership in October, with results announced in early November….Kirk Souder, a co-founder/creative partner at Ground Zero, Marina del Rey, Calif., has left the agency to spend more time with his family….Editor Sophie Scoufaras has joined Greene & Grand, New York….Composer/sound designer Sophia Morizet has signed a deal for exclusive spot representation with Spank! Music & Sound Design, Santa Monica and Chicago…. The industry is mourning the passing of music composer/producer Tara Gregory, who was on staff at WAX Music & Sound Design, New York….
For Documentaries At Sundance, Oscar Nominations (and Wins) Often Follow
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.
On Thursday night at The Ray Theater, "20 Days in Mariupol" filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who won the Oscar last year, debuted his latest dispatch from Ukraine, "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a harrowing journey to the front lines of a 2023 counteroffensive. A few hours later, at the Eccles, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who won an Oscar for "Summer of Soul" in 2022, unveiled his Sly Stone portrait, "SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genuis)." Earlier, "One Day in September" filmmaker Kevin MacDonald also showcased his film "One to One: John & Yoko," which debuted last year at the Venice Film Festival and will get an IMAX release on April 11 before hitting Max later this year.
Some critics reflected that "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, was even more powerful than "20 Days in Mariupol." "SLY LIVES!" (on Hulu Feb. 13) was called "sublime" and "illuminating" in its examination of an underappreciated, shapeshifting genius.
"I've been coming here since 2000 and I thought the coolest thing you could do would be to DJ an after party," Thompson said before the screening. "I never dreamt this for my future, so this is really humbling."
It was a full-circle end to a day that began with a slate of documentary Oscar nominations all connected to the Sundance Institute in some way. Some were supported by the Institute, some debuted at the festival as recently as last year.
"Black Box Diaries," in which a Japanese filmmaker investigates her own sexual assault, had its premiere in Park City last year and was supported by the... Read More