Production house Eleanor has signed comedy director Amir Farhang for U.S. representation. His work spans such brands as AT&T, Amazon and Best Buy, as well as celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Hart and Rihanna.
Prior to joining Eleanor, Farhang was on the directorial roster of Hungry Man.
Farhang first discovered the magic of commercial filmmaking in the dubbing room where he was a curator of others’ work. Inspired by what he saw, he began writing the very ads he would one day direct, showcasing his creative credentials at leading agencies. He, for example, served as a creative director at 180 working on Adidas Basketball, Sony and HBO, a global creative director at Wieden+Kennedy on Coca-Cola, and a copywriter at Crispin Porter+Bogusky on Burger King, Volkswagen, Coke Zero, Sprite and Virgin Atlantic. Farhang was also a writer at BBH NY and an assistant editor at Chiat/Day
“Amir has an impressive span of work that demonstrates a keen eye for comedy, meticulous attention to detail, and a fearless approach in terms of versatility,” said Sophie Gold, president of Eleanor. “It has long been my stance that directors are more than just one thing, and his reel naturally embodies that belief. He’s a master at carrying a story forward and making it look good–sticking to a genre isn’t necessary when a director has good taste. Now that we’ve added Amir to the family, I can only imagine the magic we’ll make together.”
Farhang shared, “I was already keeping an eye on Eleanor, and the amount of research Sophie did before connecting with me was refreshing and rare. Production companies are educational paths, and I’m at a point where Eleanor is my next learning touchstone. With Sophie behind me, I’ll face new challenges and opportunities that scare me and push me to rethink my approach. I’m happy to be in a space with people willing to support me and champion my continuous development.”
Farhang joins an Eleanor directorial lineup that includes Adrian De Sa Garces, Rohan Blair-Mangat, Dawit N.M., Daniel Lundh, Edson Oda, Kacper Larski, Rudi Schwab and Kelsey Taylor. Eleanor is represented on the East Coast by Anya Zander and Andrew Michaeloff of Hustle, in the Midwest by Matt Bucher of Obsidian Reps, and on the West Coast by Melissa Ross and Worthy Goodman of Melissa Ross Represents.
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