Directing duo rubberband.–comprised of New Yorkers Jason Filmore Sondock and Simon Davis–has signed with SMUGGLER for worldwide representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. Recently rubberband. has taken the award show circuit by storm winning honors at the 1.4 Awards, YDA, Ciclope, YG17 Finalist and Kinsale Shark Awards. Additionally, the duo’s work has earned four Vimeo Staff Picks with their two most recent music videos, “My Side” for lophile and “Some Place Else” for MorMor, receiving recognition.
Commercial credits for rubberband. include such brands as Under Armour, Calvin Klein, Fender, Moncler, Burberry, Away, Raf Simons, and Alexander Wang. The directing duo’s music projects include artists LCD Soundsystem, Goldlink, ZHU, Alunageorge, and Bryson Tiller. Work from rubberband. has also garnered many festival selections (SXSW, LAFF, Cleveland, Sur l’Art Montreal, SUFF). Additional accolades include a Los Angeles Film Festival Selection (2018), Silver Clio for Integrated Campaign (2018), and a Milano Fashion Film Festival Selection (2019).
Sondock and Davis first met at Tisch’s Kanbar Institute of Film and TV at NYU and have been working under the rubberband. moniker ever since. Prior to joining SMUGGLER, rubberband. had been at production houses Cadence and the London office of Moxie Pictures.
“Simon and Jason are a shot in the arm. They have the personality, taste, ambition and that relentless work ethic that helps great directors want to beat a path to the top. There is a definite flavor and a point of view that was immediately apparent to us all. They are on a very exciting and inspiring journey,” said SMUGGLER co-founder Brian Carmody.
A joint statement from Sondock and Davis read, “We’ve never been the kind of people to have long-winded explanations for why we do what we do. We’re interested in producing work that pushes creative boundaries alongside genuinely great people. SMUGGLER is the epitome of both.”
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