Director Will Wightman has joined Blinkink for global representation. He has already made his commercial project debut as a director for animal rights charity PETA, which this week earned a slot in SHOOT’s The Best Work You May Never See gallery.
Wightman came to Blinkink’s attention during last year’s BFI Future Film Fest where he took home Best Director distinction for his Falmouth University graduation piece Heart Failure. The short film was also showcased at Cannes Lions and has been widely acclaimed for its unique narrative, electric expressionism and banging original soundtrack.
Heart Failure is a fresh take on dating today with an episodic plot that follows Frank & Lizzie from the first one night stand to the inevitable breakup. It’s an "EDM musical" with an original soundtrack to justify the tagline: “This is a musical for the cinema…and the nightclub.”
Wightman said, “I love dance music, I love the energy it brings and think it ultimately has a lot more emotional resonance than people give it credit for.”
The film is dynamic, kept meticulously on track by the beat-driven metronome that affords Wightman complete control over the emotional tempo. This is often used as a blueprint to guide his viewer through some exceptional visual comedy. Music always plays a key role in Wightman’s work. He’s been producing music for years and consistently incorporates it into his projects, giving each piece its own audiovisual identity including his latest project for PETA.
Last year Wightman joined Blinkink as a director’s assistant. Since then he’s moved up to the studio’s directorial roster with PETA’s “Red River Farm” for which he served not only as a director but also lyricist and co-music composer. The PETA short, part of its “Shop To Save Lives” campaign, also marked Wightman’s first time working with puppets, which performed in tandem with actress and comedian Jessie Cave.
Wightman sees himself as an “uncompromisingly Gen-Z filmmaker,” wanting to provide a sympathetic look at his own generation. Other inspirations stem from a love for “the high energy storytelling language of music videos and commercials,” reflected in the development of his own unique style.
Blinkink executive producer Josef Byrne said, “We saw Heart Failure and fell in love. Will’s the kind of live-action, mixed-media polymath we love to have in the studio. He’ll be working on music vids and commercials with Blinkink and programs and film with our long form division Blink Industries.”
James Bretton, head of Blink Industries, said of Wightman, “We’re already cooking up some amazingly exciting projects with him at Industries and have been genuinely blown away by his brain and what it can do. He’s a disturbingly talented man.”
