Director Anouk Besson has come aboard bicoastal Celsius Films. She had most recently been represented by bicoastal Epoch Films….Director Marc Chiat has returned to Green Dot Films, Santa Monica. Chiat had previously maintained his own Red Dog Films, Santa Monica, for commercials….Director Matthijs Van Heijningen has signed with bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) for U.S. representation. The helmer is best known for "The Sculptor," a Peugeot spot out of Euro RSCG Mezzano Constantini Mignani, Milan, Italy, which scored a Gold Lion, as well as the Journalist’s Award, at the 2003 Cannes International Advertising Festival. Additionally, director Nicolai Fuglsig is now available via MJZ for stateside spotwork….Director Des Mullan of Rocket Productions, Dublin, has signed with Santa Monica-based BeachHouse Films for U.S. representation….New York-based Cine/ DRSA International has signed directors Luca Lucini and Mauro Salesi for U.S. spotwork. Both directors are based in Milan….Director Giaco Angelini and producer Esther Campbell have joined Velocity Films, Rivonia, South Africa, for exclusive representation worldwide….Two London production houses, Stark Films and Spectre, are set to merge, forming a single entity called Large. Bertie Miller, the head of Spectre, and Stephen Gash and Cathy Green, who’ve overseen Stark, will comprise the management team for Large, which maintains a combined roster of directors for Europe that includes Daniel Kleinman, Jeff Stark, Anthony Easton, Jon Greenhalgh, John Lloyd, Colin Gregg, Simon Green, Enda McCallion, Dominic Savage, Sandra Goldbacher and newcomers Simon Cracknell and the duo of Tash and Tanya….Director Gore Verbinski is back at bicoastal Anonymous Content following the release of box office hit Pirates of the Caribbean. He figures to have about a six-month window of spot availability via Anonymous….Editor David Cornman has joined Post Factory, New York. He was previously with The Blue Rock Editing Company, New York….Rhonda Moore has been named executive producer at Mad River Post, Dallas. She relocated from Los Angeles, where she worked as a TV writer/producer….Editor Jason Painter, formerly of Swietlik, Santa Monica, has come aboard Jigsaw, Los Angeles…. Michael Peterson, who had been freelancing in recent months at Venice, Calif.-based visual effects house Sight Effects, has come on staff as a Flame/ Inferno artist….Colin Stackpole, a lead Inferno artist at Quiet Man, New York, has struck out on his own, launching Brandname, a visual effects boutique in New York. He is teamed in the new venture with another Quiet Man alumnus, 2-D designer Patrick Lavin….
Breakout Films and Major Takeaways From This Year’s Sundance Fest
Film wasn't the only thing on people's minds at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which comes to a close Sunday in Park City, Utah ( and online ).
The effects of the wildfires in Southern California loomed large, as did the bittersweet knowledge that this year will be the second to last Sundance based in Park City. Some films offered an escape from reality; others were a pointed reminder of the domestic and international political landscape, from transgender rights to the war in Ukraine.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the 41st edition of the festival.
The effects of the Southern California fires were deeply felt
The wildfires were still burning in parts of Los Angeles when Sundance began last week and reminders of its devastation were everywhere, even on screen. Max Walker-Silverman's "Rebuilding," starring Josh O'Connor as a cowboy who loses his ranch in a wildfire and forms a community with fellow survivors in a FEMA camp, hit close to home for many.
Filmmakers Meena Menon and Paul Gleason lost their home in Altadena where they filmed some of their zombie apocalypse movie "Didn't Die." Sundance artist labs head Michelle Satter lost her Palisades home as well. Satter had an audience of Sundance Institute donors in tears early in the festival while accepting an honor at a fundraising gala.
"It's a deeply devastating time for us and so many others, a moment that calls for all of us coming together to support our bigger community," Satter said. "As a friend recently noted, and I have to listen to this, 'Take a deep breath ... We lost our village, but at the end of the day we are the village.'"
The festival's move to another city dominated conversations
It was a topic... Read More