spot.com.mentary
While it may sound cliché, never underestimate the impact of a story on the storyteller. As we enter the current awards season, much is made of how a film resonates with an audience. But there’s also a profound influence being felt by those who bring us the story, a common thread which runs...
At the recently wrapped Cannes Film Festival, actress Julianne Moore said that quotas would be a viable option in order for the American movie industry to attain gender parity.
Gender quotas are more common in Europe where filmmaking is often partly subsidized by public money. Sweden,...
Past installments of this column have chronicled the importance of storytelling as a means to evoke empathy, putting us in someone else’s shoes so that we can reconnect with our humanity, nurture not only concern for others but also a feeling of unity during a time where divisiveness, alienation...
In this issue’s Directors Series, there’s a sense of profound purpose among the filmmakers we profiled. Consider director Paul Greengrass’ decision to connect with Netflix, thus gaining exposure on that platform as well as in theaters for his 22 July, which tells the true story of...
Groucho Marx famously played havoc with the old adage “time heals all wounds,” concluding instead that “time wounds all heels.” While I’m not convinced as to the absolute truth of either statement, it would seem that today we have plenty of heels in prominent places whose currency is...
While the sample size in some cases is limited, there are signs of advancement for female directors that have emerged in recent months. For one, 9 of the 11 films slated for the upcoming AFI Fest’s New Auteurs program are directed by women. And in SHOOT’s Up-and-Coming Directors fall season...
As SHOOT gears up for its 15th New Directors Showcase at the DGA Theatre in NYC next week (5/25), opening up opportunities for promising talent, there are other relatively new programs gaining traction which are designed to create paths into the industry for those who aspire to...
When Moonlight was awarded the Best Picture Oscar just moments after it had been erroneously given to La La Land, media coverage centered on what went wrong to lead to the biggest gaffe in Academy Awards history.
But somewhat lost in the immediate shuffle was what the...
This week our coverage of McCann New York as SHOOT’s Agency of the Year concludes with Microsoft’s “Art of Harmony” campaign from m:united//McCann, spotlighting people from all walks of life who make a positive difference on society at large.
But there are also examples within...
The title of this column was a comment made by Winston Binch, chief digital officer of Deutsch North America, during the AICP Show Road Tour in Los Angeles last month as part of a roundtable discussion in which AICP Next judges talked about the honored work and trends in the industry. AICP...