Bicoastal production company Greenpoint Pictures has added filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr. (Buck) to its directorial roster for his first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Buck thrives on finding innovative ways to share the stories of Black communities that would otherwise be lost. His company, House of the Young Ent.–regarded as a beacon in the New Orleans art community and a platform for the culture and the city–was awarded the New Orleans Film Society’s Rising Star Award. Buckles’ 2022 debut documentary, Katrina Babies, was co-produced with TIME Studios and distributed through HBO, earning him a spot on DOC NYC’s 40 under 40.
Katrina Babies made its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival where it earned Buckles the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. Katrina Babies is a first-person account of the short-term and long-term devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, as told by young people who were between the ages of 3 and 19 when the levees broke.
Buckles’ work in branded fare includes a film for Netflix in which fellow New Orleans native Big Freedia remixes audio from the streamer’s “Hey Queen” campaign to create an original track promoting the series Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The corresponding video directed by Buck serves as a nod to the significance of HBCU royal court culture and is a love letter to the rich history of New Orleans. He brought his eye as a documentarian to collaborate on branded films with Teen Vogue and Crown Royal, as well as an Adidas campaign profiling Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter’s work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Buck said of Greenpoint Pictures, “I admire the human-centered work they do across the board, but especially with their branded content. The humanity behind filmmaking is something I try to keep central to my work, so as I move into the world of advertising, it’s good to know the company that represents me shares those same artistic values.”
Greenpoint Pictures’ executive producer Leah Donnenberg Ramia said, “When I first watched Buck’s feature film, Katrina Babies, I knew we had to work together. Every choice he makes from the gripping opening shots to the poignant, unexpected ending is a stunning combination of raw humanity and precise design.” Donnenberg Ramia added, “Buck is incredibly grounded as a person and as a director, but he also has exquisite taste in everything from fine art to fashion to food. It’s no wonder he’s able to drill into the heart of each story he tells and with such intention and style, too. We look forward to what’s to come with this collaborative relationship, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for Buck. And if you haven’t seen it already, definitely add Katrina Babies to your watchlist.”
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