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….
LOBO Signs Filmmaker Cisma For Commercials and Branded Content
Creative studio LOBO has added multi-faceted artist Cisma (Denis Kamioka) to its directorial roster for commercials and branded content. Cisma, a self-taught motion designer, animator, and live-action director, began his career at LOBO nearly 20 years ago. His return marks a homecoming following a tenure working in Europe as a film artist.
Cisma’s filmmaking style combines live-action with heavy postproduction elements and art direction. Cisma’s work has earned a Latin Grammy nomination and many advertising festival wins, including Cannes Lions, Clio’s, D&AD, and One Show Interactive Awards. Cisma was previously repped in the U.S. by Black List/Psyop.
Starting as a motion designer and 3D animator, Cisma was quickly recognized by Diesel and asked to join their creative team in Italy. After this, he began shooting mixed-media films in Barcelona, later moving into directing music videos. To date, he’s collaborated with many artists, like Milton Nascimento, Racionais MCs, Tropkillaz, Nação Zumbi, and a music video for Criolo made in partnership with the video game franchise League of Legends. Additionally, Cisma directed sports documentaries “A História de Claudio Kano” for ESPN and “Espírito da Luta” for Canal Combate. He recently directed two episodes of the Netflix series “Sintonia” for its fourth season, reaching #1 on the Netflix Global Non-English chart. His commercial career includes brand films for Lay’s, Adobe, IBM, Fiat Abarth Pulse, Samsung Vivo, Banco Bradesco, Getty Images, a promotional film for Brazilian graffiti artist Os Gemeos entitled “The Giant,” and much more.
“It feels so good to be back home at LOBO,” said Cisma. “This place and these people shaped so much of who I am as a filmmaker.... Read More