Director Matthieu Mantovani has joined Photoplay Films for exclusive representation in Australia and New Zealand after completing their first project together. Mantovani, an accomplished comedy and visual narrative director based in Paris, recently worked with Photoplay on a local campaign for NAB, “This Is The Story Of Progress,” with agency Clemenger BBDO. He is behind campaigns for Volkswagen, Peugeot, Audi and Mercedes-Benz–including “The Encounter” for BBDO Paris–and has also directed recent campaigns for insurance giant Allianz and Italian online fashion retailer YOOX. Mantovani has additionally collaborated with creative agencies including BETC, Jung Von Matt, Euro RSCG, Palm Havas and Ogilvy. Among some of his best-known work is “Hippies” for Volkswagen in which aging children of the Flower Power era reminisce over old photographs of a much loved VW van and are then spellbound by the arrival of the new version of the classic vehicle. Mantovani also directed the acclaimed campaign for Longines’ watches featuring Kate Winslet, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Asian film star Chi Ling Lin, along with the short film Broadway, which screened at the New York Museum of Modern Art….
Review: Director Ben Taylor’s “Joy”
Toward the end of Netflix's "Joy," the muffled cry of a newborn baby prompts a man and woman in a hospital to embrace out of pure bliss. They aren't the parents, but they had as much to do with the birth as the mom and dad.
This charming and winning movie charts the decade-long true story of how the world's first IVF baby was born in England in 1978 — a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions more. It's an upbeat, very English affair, mixing sober discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.
The couple embracing that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio succeeded with in vitro fertilization, a method of treating infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.
"Joy" has been birthed at a time when science is under threat in America — even IVF — so it's downright inspiring to see plucky, smart scientists working hard to change the world. "What we're doing, it matters," says Steptoe, played with quiet economy by Bill Nighy.
"Joy" is the personal stories of the three scientists — mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a polite lab-coated warrior. "If I hear a commotion, I'm not very good at staying out of it," she says. Perfectly played by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong, learning through the process to be a better human. James Norton plays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and calm spirit.
Jack Thorne's script nicely explains the massive pressure the trio faced. IVF may have become common and uncontroversial over the last decades, but back in the late '70s it was experimental and shunned. The Anglican church called it a sin, the newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-ish and other... Read More