Merman has added director Amanda Blue to its roster for U.K. commercial representation. Blue is a critically acclaimed filmmaker known for her hard-hitting documentaries, comedies as well as commercials. Blue started her career working for Oscar nominated film director Mike Figgis before directing the multi-award winning documentary series Young Black Farmers for U.K.’s Channel4, a series about a group of inner city black teenagers going to live and work on a farm in Devon. She was a BAFTA-nominated Best Director for Prescott: The Class System and me, a documentary about former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and his wife. Blue then went on to direct seminal series The Big School Lottery (experiences from children going from primary to secondary school), Twincredibles (a film about growing up mixed race in Britain) and feature film The Town That Caught Torrettes which pulled in huge ratings for Channel4. Blue’s commercial work spans across brands such as VW, Barbie, and P&G. Her directing work for Dove’s “Mother’s Body” picked up a Cannes Bronze Lion and a Kinsale Shark Silver. She has also collected an array of nominations for the British Arrows, LIAA and New York Festivals. Her feature length documentary drama Deep Water which she wrote and directed uncovers a spate of unsolved homophobic murders on Sydney’s coastline in the ‘80s and ‘90s, receiving wide critical acclaim. Most recently Blue has written and directed for the sitcom Newark, Newark, a modern take on life as a chip shop manager in the East Midlands featuring Gavin & Stacey star Mathew Horne and Morgana Robinson…..
BIRTH UK has signed director Augusto Giménez Zapiola, founder of Argentinacine, a leading Argentinian production company. His work has garnered assorted awards spanning such competitions as Cannes Lions, Clios, LIA, The One Show, D&AD and El Sol. He is particularly noted as a dialogue-driven comedy director whose films affectionately affirm the absurdities of life. His latest comic spot “The Community,” shot for Rosa Paris through BIRTH, showcases a brilliant sense of humor while also seeding a serious message for eco brand Greenweez. The director signed with BIRTH France last year and is now extending his reach through BIRTH UK. BIRTH maintains offices in London, Paris and Algiers…
Untold Studios has aded director and photographer Cody Cloud to its roster. Based at Untold in L.A., Cloud has wrapped his first directorial gig for the company, “First Drum Set,” a film for the American indie rock band Pedro the Lion. As one-half of the photo duo JUCO for more than a decade, Cloud has created campaigns for brands such as Apple, Absolut, Adidas, Asics, Adobe, Audi, Belvedere, DSW, Fruit of the Loom, Gatorade, H&M, Hewlett Packard, Mailchimp, Mastercard, MGM, Nike, Puma, Sorel, Target, Tide, Uniqlo and Virgin Airlines. Editorial clients include Entertainment Weekly, TIME, S Magazine, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, New York Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Paper and Billboard….
