Roman Veiga has joined the directorial roster of Troublemakers for representation in France spanning commercials and branded content. The writer-director likes to mix techniques such as stop-motion, 3D animation, and live action. His style, this crossroads of different visual techniques, is expressed through collaborations with musicians, helping to shape and design their visual identity, or in engaging advertising films. Since his first film, which was selected, and won prizes at a number of major festivals (Clermont Ferrand, Short Shorts Tokyo, Houston Cinema Arts Festival, ASIFA-East Animation Festival, etc.), Veiga has alternated between personal and commissioned work, always with the same ambition of combining visual exploration with unexpected, funny and poetic stories….
National CineMedia (NCM), the cinema advertising platform that is the U.S. representative to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has unveiled the winners of the 2024 US Young Lions competition. Over 500 teams comprised of young professionals across the advertising, digital, media, creative and PR industries registered for the competition this year, up 20% year over year. The five winning teams, aka TEAM USA, are:
- Digital: Jessica Nugent, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA & Rachel Findlay, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA
- Film: Emma LeMay, Weber Shandwick & John Chavez, Weber Shandwick
- Media: Cara Miller, Initiative & Christian Savino, Initiative
- PR: Morgan Biles, Weber Shandwick & Lena Church, Weber Shandwick
- Print: Chloe Bayhack, FCB New York & Victoria Rocha, FCB New York
The winners will compete in person as TEAM USA in the global Young Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity taking place from June 17-21 in Cannes, France….
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More