Little Minx has added award-winning directors and cinematographers Gareth Jackson and Mark Karinja, aka + jacksonkarinja, to its talent roster. The duo has already helmed its first project under the Little Minx banner, a multiday shoot they directed under COVID safety protocols; the work is set to break later this week.
After meeting on film crews in New York City at a young age, Jackson and Karinja teamed up as a directing/cinematography duo under the + jacksonkarinja moniker. They quickly became known for their honest cinematic voice rooted in a nomadic, documentary ethos–––which is a fancy way of saying they enjoy shooting from skateboards, motorcycles, or from the roof of a car they are strapped to with a camera. Jackson and Karinja always look to bring their unique perspective and aesthetic to all of their work, from their own films to work for brands such as Apple, Nike, BMW, and Converse.
Their newly released short film Chasing Silence is a cinematic ode to flat track dirt bike racing. “It’s pretty hard to describe the mindset of racing on a track, so we tried to make a film that could,” said Jackson. To capture their visceral take on the grassroots race experience, the duo utilized a custom motorcycle camera rig in combination with handheld work shot on 16mm film.
“The story is about the intensity of the track contrasted with the mental focus of the racer. We wanted to visualize what that headspace feels like,” said Karinja.
Rhea Scott, founder of Little Minx, shared, “These two won my heart immediately. Their work reflects them as human beings, warm, thoughtful, positive, and mischievous.”
The + jacksonkarinja duo was previously represented by production house Superprime in the U.S. Elsewhere the directing team is repped by Animals in Canada, Sovage in France, and Soup Films in Germany.
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More