Brooklyn-based production company tinygiant has added Raphaël Ouellet and Andrew Schneider to its directorial roster for commercial representation in the U.S. Raised in Rimouski, Quebec and now living in Montreal, Ouellet has a body of work that spans short films and commercials, earning more than 50 awards from institutions including CLIO, PDN, and the Communication of Arts and American Photography. His clients include Air Canada, Parks Canada, and Penningtons. Schneider has made his mark with automotive work. Schneider studied film and cinematography at USC. His recent Can-Am campaign reflects his interest in human stories alongside the ever-evolving innovations of the car industry. He has also worked with such brands as Acura, Toyota, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, and BMW. The Can-Am job for Anomaly marked Schneider’s first job at tinygiant, which recently secured Anna Rotholz Management for representation on the East Coast……
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More