Director Miles Goodall of Suburban Films, Cape Town, has signed with bicoastal/international @radical.media for worldwide representation. Goodall, a partner in Suburban Films, will continue to accept work through that company….Director Michael Norman has come aboard Venice, Calif.-based Mechaniks…. Director Dinh Long Thai has joined Rhythm + Hues Commercials, Los Angeles, for exclusive U.S. spot representation….Director Stuart Acher has joined Dark Light Pictures, Hollywood…. Bicoastal Cosmo Street Editorial has added Alex Brook as executive producer for its Santa Monica office. He had been serving as senior producer for Deutsch LA….Nonfiction Spots, Santa Monica has added three documentary filmmakers to its spot roster: Ondi Timoner, director of DIG!, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival; Robby Kenner, whose most recent documentary is The Road to Memphis; and the mono-monikered Helli, producer of Pororoca, Surfing the Amazon, which was honored with the Best Story Award at X-Dance 2004….Shadow Pictures, New York, has signed director Ivo Wejgaard for spot representation in the U.S….Bicoastal Face the Music and Drazen Bosnjak have amicably ended their affiliation….Erica Thompson has joined Ohio Edit, New York, as a producer. She comes over from Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where she was a partner/producer….Stan Prinsen has joined Martin| Williams, Minneapolis, as VP/director of broadcast production. He was most recently a senior producer at Fallon, Minneapolis….Zero 2 Sixty, New York, and Comotion Films, Atlanta, who entered into a joint marketing and production partnership last September, have signed director Glen Owen for spots….The mono-monikered Gelman, a noted designer, has joined Charlex, New York, as design director….
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