Production company Rodeo Show has signed director, photographer and cinematographer Tasha Van Zandt for her first U.S. commercial representation. Bringing a global perspective to her work across commercials, feature films, series and photography, she has traveled on assignment to over 75 countries and every continent. Dedicated to telling stories that foster empathy and build cultural bridges that impact greater global understanding, she has crafted cross-media projects for such clients as National Geographic, NBA, ThirdLove, Google, Apple, New York Times Journeys, The Guardian, Adobe and Airbnb. Van Zandt is currently directing a feature documentary film, After Antarctica, with one of National Geographic’s legendary explorers.
From a young age, Van Zandt has been exploring the world from behind the lens. She has traveled the globe on assignments such as documenting Buddhist monks on the Thai-Myanmar border, researching the effects of coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef, traversing the Negev by camel while documenting unrecognized bedouin villages, and surveying UXOs in Laos.
Throughout the year, Tasha works for National Geographic Expeditions as a photography and filmmaking instructor where she leads educational expeditions throughout Australia, Iceland, Tanzania and Japan. Recently, she collaborated with the artist JR to document his San Francisco Mural Project which will be opening later this year at the SFMOMA.
Rodeo Show EP Raphael Leopold said, “Tasha is an incredibly talented artist and filmmaker with a remarkable eye and impeccable storytelling abilities. Her talent, combined with her extensive experience in various formats of filmmaking and photography is a massive addition to Rodeo Show.”
Van Zandt noted, “Rodeo Show has an impressive track record of molding the careers of emerging filmmakers. I’m thrilled to be a part of their roster and work with Raphael to continue to expand my reel.”
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