Tom Weissferdt, a former partner/exec producer at Caviar, has launched Slim Pictures in Venice, Calif. The new venture opens with a directorial roster that consists of ZCDC (Zack Canepari and Drea Cooper), Stephen Blackman, Karen Cunningham, Nicolas Caicoya, Charley Stadler and Brad Morrison. Zlim is repped by Andrew Hall on the West Coast, Anya Zander and Emilia Ferreira of The House of Cards on the East Coast, and Rich Newman in the Midwest….Envision Media Arts, a Los Angeles-based producer spanning commercials, film and TV, has hired David Buelow as president of Film & TV, and Andrew Halpern as president of commercial production. Buelow comes over from Brookwell McNamara Entertainment (BME), where he served as president and produced such films as Bring it On: Fight to the Finish, Into the Blue 2: The Reef and Legally Blondes, the sequel to the successful Legally Blonde franchise. Halpern's repping and producing career had him working with commercial production houses that included RSA Films, MJZ, Chelsea and Plum. Lee Nelson is president of the overall Envison Media Arts which was founded as XOVR (pronounced Crossover) in 2002. Envision Media Arts has producd spots for Macy's, Ferrero Rocher, Ford and T-Com, among others. In 2010 Nelson executive produced and Envision supplied financing for the feature Janie Jones, starring Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola. The film recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Envision currently is in pre-production on WACO, the first narrative feature film to explore the events of the ATF raid on Mt. Carmel, Texas, the 51-day siege that followed, and the devastating fire that resulted in the deaths of 81 civilians. Set to star Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, Kurt Russell, Sharon Stone and John Leguizamo, WACO will be directed by Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata)….Framestore's London office has promoted Helen Hughes to its top commercials production role, head of production. The appointment is a precursor to a period of growth that will see Framestore's production department increase with imminent new hirings. Hughes joined Framestore as a senior producer in August 2010. Since working for Framestore, she has produced such work as Audi's “Goodnight Moon” with director Daniel Kleinman, and EA Sports' “FIFA 11” and Special Olympics “Omar” with director Johnny Green. She is currently working with director Tom Kuntz on a soon-to-be-released project. Hughes joined Framestore from Method Studios in LA where she was a director of production. Hughes was previously at The Mill, firstly in the London office between 2000 and 2006 where she became deputy head of production before transferring to the USA to establish The Mill's LA studio. Hughes' production career began as an agency producer at Ogilvy and a production company producer at Outsider Films….
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