Director Ariel Kleiman is joining Stink for worldwide representation. A young Australian filmmaker and director of spots and music videos, Kleiman, who resides in London, has garnered notable recognition for his film, including his Deeper Than Yesterday which won the International Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2011 Sundance Festival, as well as a Kodak Discovery Award and the Petit Rail d’Or at Cannes Film Festivals Critic’s Week. Kleiman’s first foray into commercials, “Marked For Life” for organization SIRE, was awarded silverware at Eurobest & Epica Awards 2011….Pete Mayor has come aboard the recently launched L.A. office of NY-based visual effects studio Carbon as sr. Flame artist. At his new roost he wrapped a multi-spot Windows 8 campaign for Microsoft out of CP+B. Mayor had been with Method Studios where he served as sr. Flame artist working on such brands as VW, Apple, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Best Buy, Taco Bell, Walmart, Pedgiree, American Express, Old Navy, Chrysler and Buick….Michael Coletta has joined Protein Editorial, becoming the second Chicago-based editor at the shop, the other cutter being company partner Clark Jackson. Protein also represents six independent L.A. editors exclusively in the Midwest. Coletta had most recently been at Red Car….Editor Pablo Plant has joined New Art Miami. His addition will facilitate the company’s global positioning in Central and South America markets, as well expand the scope of its Hispanic work in the U.S. Plant has cut work that has earned numerous awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion Award for “NIKE Manifestacion,” the Silver Lion for “Die Welt Architec,” and a Bronze Lion for “Greenpeace-Salva”….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More