Biscuit Filmworks has added Joaquin & Lalou–a directorial duo consisting of Joaquin Baca-Asay and Lalou Dammond–to its roster for both U.S. and U.K. representation spanning commercials and branded content. This marks the introduction of Baca-Asay and Dammond as a helming team to the industry at large.
Baca-Asay, who joined Biscuit in 2018, has been a longtime collaborator with Dammond, his producer. The two have been creative partners since 2006.
Throughout their working relationship, Baca-Asay and Dammond have worked with leading worldwide brands including Nike, Apple, the NFL, Chevrolet and Bud Light, earning accolades from Cannes Lions, Clios, the AICP Show, and The One Show. Baca-Asay also received a DGA Awards nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials in 2010, based on spots for CSX, Volvo, Bank of America, and LensCrafters, all produced by Dammond. The duo’s work is known for elegant realism in both visuals and storytelling, and their creative partnership blends the roles of director, cinematographer, producer, and photographer.
“Joaquin and I have been collaborators for as long as we’ve worked together,” shared Dammond, “and it just felt like it was time to officially declare ourselves as a directing team. We’re very excited that Biscuit is so supportive of this next phase in our partnership.”
Baca-Asay began his career as a cinematographer, working on a range of projects including an Oscar-nominated short film shot while still a student at NYU, the music video for Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” James Gray’s acclaimed “We Own The Night” and “Two Lovers,” and cult comedy classic Super Troopers. Dammond began her career as an independent film and documentary producer, where she honed her skills as a creative producer with many award-winning and festival-favorite projects to her name.
Founded in 2000 by managing director Shawn Lacy and director Noam Murro, Biscuit maintains a directors’ roster which includes Joaquin & Lalou, Murro, Aaron Stoller, Andreas Nilsson, Big Red Button, Christopher Riggert, Clay Weiner, Dan DiFelice, Daniel Warwick, Errol Morris, The Glue Society, Isaiah Seret, Jeff Low, Justin Kurzel, Matt Devine, Michael Downing, Molly Manners, Olof Lindh, Rachel McDonald, and Steve Rogers.
Full Lineup Set For AFI Fest; Official Selections Span 44 Countries, Include 9 Best International Feature Oscar Submissions
The American Film Institute (AFI) has unveiled the full lineup for this year’s AFI Fest, taking place in Los Angeles from October 23-27. Rounding out the slate of already announced titles are such highlights as September 5 directed by Tim Fehlbaum, All We Imagine As Light directed by Payal Kapadia, The Luckiest Man in America directed by Samir Oliveros (AFI Class of 2019), Zurawski v. Texas from executive producers Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lawrence and directors Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, and Oh, Canada directed by Paul Schrader (AFI Class of 1969). A total of 158 films are set to screen at the 38th edition of AFI Fest.
Of the official selections, 48% are directed by women and non-binary filmmakers and 26% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers.
Additional festival highlights include documentaries Architecton directed by Victor Kossakovsky; Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie directed by David Bushell; Devo directed by Chris Smith about the legendary new wave provocateurs; Gaucho Gaucho directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw; Group Therapy directed by Neil Berkeley with Emmy® winner Neil Patrick Harris and Tig Notaro; No Other Land directed by a Palestinian-Israeli team comprised of Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal; Pavements directed by Alex Ross Perry; and Separated directed by Errol Morris. Notable narrative titles include Black Dog (Gou Zen) directed by Guan Hu; Bonjour Tristesse directed by Durga Chew-Bose with Academy Award® nominee Chloë Sevigny; Caught By The Tides directed by Jia Zhangke; Hard Truths directed by Mike Leigh with... Read More