Greenpoint Pictures, with bases of operation in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, has added director Allison Swank Owen to its talent roster, marking her first U.S. commercial representation.
After honing her craft as an editor in Chicago, Swank Owen transitioned to documentary filmmaking for networks like The History Channel and National Geographic. Upon relocating to New York, she fully embraced her talent as a director while creating short- and long-format documentaries for Questlove’s music channels OkayAfrica and Okayplayer, while working with artists like Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello, A$AP Rocky, and Flying Lotus.
A subsequent move took Swank Owen to South Africa for eight years, during which time she directed documentaries, commercials, brand films and music videos with some of the country’s most well-known and visionary artists. Her keen eye and versatile approach have since attracted international attention, taking her across the African continent to work with artists like Major Lazer and Burna Boy. Combining her experience in music and non-fiction filmmaking, she traveled to Nigeria and the U.K. to direct a short documentary for Mr. Eazi, From Lagos to London, about the global rise of Afrobeats.
Scum Boy, her independent documentary, sheds light on the life and craft of the eponymous transgender 3D artist who has transcended the domain of social media to garner mainstream acclaim and be regarded as a creative-on-the-rise. The film premiered on 4:3 Short Films and has been featured in Metal magazine and Paper magazine, and others. Scum Boy won Best Short Documentary at the IMDB Independent Shorts Awards in L.A. It was also an Official Selection for Shorts On Tap–London and Hot Docs 2021, and was invited to screen at AFI Docfest.
“I’m so thankful that Greenpoint Pictures are enthusiastic about my ideas–I feel very seen by Michael [director Kuhn], Tatiana [EP Rudzinski], Niles [director Roth], and Trevor [EP of sales King],” said Swank Owen. “The connection felt right from the very first meeting and I’m excited to join their roster for my first commercial representation in the U.S.”
“Allison’s work is bold, provocative, edgy, and celebratory” said Rudzinski. “She has an innate gift for finding unexpected ways into a story that captivate and intrigue, drawing you further into the story and connecting you with the characters. I’m impressed by her unique visual style and the global feel her work brings.”
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