Little Minx has brought The Chartrands–the wife-and-husband directorial team consisting of Melanie and Marc Chartrand–aboard its roster for commercials and branded entertainment in the U.S.
Bound together by their wanderlust and passion for intimate storytelling, The Chartrands weave cultural narratives that explore the moods, tones, and meanings embedded within our collective and personal histories. Melanie was born in a small town in Texas to a depression-era sharecropper father and a British hippie. Her mother’s stories of hitchhiking across Europe sparked a sense of adventure which fused with her love for history and politics. Marc was born in Montreal, Canada with dreams of playing professional ice hockey. His father’s Kodachromes of world travel spurred his imagination. Both Marc and Melanie found careers in photojournalism–capturing everything from shifts in global power to quiet, almost forgotten, individual voices. They have worked as editors and cinematographers, each DP’ing all of their own work, before moving into directing together. As a duo, Marc and Melanie marry a diverse array of perspectives.
Known for outstanding technical work in food and automotive, they are equally recognized for their capacity for capturing the subtle complexity of human experience through a cinematic visual narrative. They have worked with brands such as RAM, Nissan, Ragu, and New York Lottery out of agencies including Havas, McCann, and The Richards Group.
In a joint statement, The Chartrands shared, “We’re driven to tell stories and to do so in search of meaning. We feel that there is a true values match with Little Minx and we’re eager to collaborate on evocative pieces with brands and agencies.”
Rhea Scott, Little Minx president and founder, added, “Mel and Marc are perfectionists like us, and they approach their projects with strong conceptual thinking. They have a great potential to express this even further, and I look forward to reaching new heights with them both.”
The Chartrands are represented by Holiday Films in Canada. They were previously repped by Lucky 21 in the U.S.
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