Montreal-based production company L’ÉLOI has added seven artists and seven studios to its expanding roster, now representing a total of 23 diverse talents in the fields of directing, photography, mixed media and motion design. This expansion enhances L’ÉLOI’s creative capabilities and service offerings both in Canada and internationally. The studio also continues to broaden its reach through strategic partnerships with established representatives in key cities such as Toronto (Hestyreps), New York (FreeAgents) and Chicago (Renee & Melissa). L’ÉLOI has added directors Derek Branscombe, Justin Abernethy, Ivan Jurado, Raphael Vangelis, Guillaume Alantaz and the helming duo BOM. All are repped in Canada and the U.S., except for Brandscome whom L’ÉLOI handles worldwide, and Jurado who’s handled just in Canada. Additionally, seven animation studios, including Frame, Temple Caché, Clim, Anecdote, Colegram, Baillat and Mat&Fab have joined L’ÉLOI to deliver compelling mixed media content. Frame and Baillat are both repped in Canada and the U.S. Anecdote, Colegram and Mat & Fab are handled worldwide. And Temple Cache as well as Clim are represented in Canada…..
Bicoastal production company Boomshot has hired Sara Iversen as its executive producer/head of partnerships. Iversen’s career started at advertising agencies like TBWA, Grey, and Lowe, where she served as an account executive on global brands such as General Motors, Playtex, and Banana Boat before moving into production. During her tenure as a VP of strategy and business development at Alkemy X, she was instrumental in the product launch of Samsung’s Frame TV, and at Industrial Color she led the production charge on several Amazon device launches, as well as many other initiatives for popular brands like Fenty Beauty, Asics, Puma, Bud Light, Geico, and L’Oreal, to name a few….
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More