Founded in 2009 in Los Angeles, Native Pictures, headed by partner/executive producer Tomer DeVito, has launched a Chicago office under the aegis of exec producer Amy Jarvis Turner. Previously with Leo Burnett in Chicago, Turner is a producer with a presence in the Chicago advertising community. She’s enlisted several companies to produce award-winning campaigns, but it was the number of successful projects that she developed with Native that drew her closer to the company….MassMarket has brought Julien Brami aboard as VFX supervisor. An 11-year industry vet, his body of work spans such clients as Kellogg’s, Microsoft, Nike, Honda, Nintento, YouTube and Exxon, and has garnered honors including four Telly Awards, two D&AD Awards, a gold at the 2012 London International Awards, a 2012 gold Addy Award and a win at SXSW 2010 for Excellence in Title Design in the Movie Category….Editor Scott Gibney, whose credits include Verizon, Ritz Crackers, Time Warner Cable, Doritos and Clearasil, has joined Cutters Studios’ growing NYC office headed by exec producer Elizabeth Krajewski. He comes aboard a company roster consisting of editors Steve Bell and Nadav Kurtz. Gibney comes over from Outside Edit….Sr. editor Walter Mauriot is joining Nightshift and wil be available through the postproduction company’s offices in Paris, L.A. and NY. Mauriot made his Nightshift debut with the 24-hour music video for Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” directed by We Are From LA and produced by Iconoclast, which launched November 21. Nightshift organized the post between its L.A. and Paris offices with a dedicated creative team that supervised the data management and workflow for the editing, color grading and finalization of this 24-hour project. Mauriot first discovered his love for editing as an assistant at Bandits in 1997, before freelancing and working alongside Michel Gondry’s trusted art director, François Nemeta. Mauriot then continued to bring his skilled editorial eye to numerous projects produced by Wanda Productions, Partizan, Midi-Minuit, Première Heure and Iconoclast, to name a few. Mauriot gained international recognition for his second Adidas spot for Sid Lee, “Unite All,” directed by SoMe and featuring A-trak, which followed up his work on the Adidas spot “All In,” directed by Romain Gavras. Mauriot and Gavras have partnered several times in recent years, including on the documentary following French electro duo Justice on their US tour A Cross The Universe; MIA’s notorious “Bad Girls” music video; and MIA’s “Born Free” video, which earned Mauriot the Antville Award for Best Editing in 2010. His work extends beyond advertisements and music videos, with Mauriot being one of two editors that cut Logorama, the 2010 Oscar winner for Best Animation Short Film, as well as full-length features including Unleashed, written by Luc Besson, and Babylon A.D. featuring Vin Diesel….
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