The directing team of Josh & Xander (Josh Melnick and Xander Charity), formerly of bicoastal/international Partizan, has joined Tight, the Santa Monica-headquartered shop headed by executive producer Jonathon Ker……Director Breck Eisner, who recently wrapped the feature Sahara, has come aboard bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures for spots. Meanwhile director Ben Younger is again available for commercials via Chelsea; his feature film Prime starring Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman premiered earlier this week….Joe Leih, who gained inclusion into SHOOT‘s New Directors Showcase earlier this year, has signed with Creative Film Management (CFM), New York, for exclusive U.S. spot representation. He continues to be handled by Sparks Productions, Toronto, for work out of Canadian agencies……Zarina Mak has been named executive producer of New York editorial house P.S. 260. She recently wrapped a year as head of production at Fallon, New York, working on such accounts as Starbucks and Virgin Mobile. Prior to that, she was producing at BBH, New York. At P.S. 260, Mak succeeds Michelle Thibeault who is moving to Sarasota, Fla., to be president of Two Dogs Trucking, which she and her husband Eddie own…..Sam Aslanian, VP/executive producer for Los Angeles-based music video/commercial production house DNA, is leaving the company after a successful 15-year run to take on personal pursuits. Missy Galanida, formerly exec producer and directors rep for music videos at DNA, has become head of music videos/exec producer for the company, which continues to be headed by founder/CEO David Naylor. Additionally, producer Caleb Dewart has been named DNA’s music video executive producer….Pacifica Ventures, owner of the historic Culver Studios in Culver City, Calif., has come aboard a team looking to build a major movie/TV production studio in Albuquerque. Pacifica Ventures will help Union Development Corp and Digital Media Group–the original developers of the New Mexico facility–in designing the estimated $60 million-plus project and will provide operational management once the stage complex opens as planned in early 2007…..
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More