Bicoastal Instant Karma Films has added director Styrmir Sigurdsson to its roster. Sigurdsson first established himself in Iceland where his work has been regularly honored in recent years at the Icelandic Ad Awards. He studied film at Art Center, Pasadena, Calif., before returning to his native Iceland….Tabletop director Vittorio Sacco of Vittorio Sacco Films in Milan has relocated to the United States where he continues to be repped by New York-headquartered Cohn+Company. Sacco still maintains his Milan shop, which plans to add directors in Europe as part of an initiative to expand overseas. Among his U.S. credits are Miller for Crispin Porter+Bogusky and Domino’s Pizza for JWT….Lookout Entertainment, Hermosa Beach, Calif., has signed director Michael Spiller for spot representation. Spiller, whose episodic TV credits include Sex and the City, Ugly Betty and Scrubs, recently wrapped a Ross campaign via Lookout….Al Hazen and Francis Cleetus have joined Marc USA, Pittsburgh, as creative director and associate creative director, respectively. Hazen, who will work on Marc USA’s Rite Aid and Pennsylvania Lottery accounts, previously served as an associate creative director with Doner in Southfield, Mich. Cleetus will work on the Moen, Mohawk, Alouette Cheese and Pittsburgh Zoo accounts at Marc….
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More