JAMIE LEE CURTIS, JOE PUGLIESE REFLECT ON PANDEMIC

At the outset of the pandemic, photographer and director Joe Pugliese utilized his newfound free time photographing people across Los Angeles in their homes and yards as we grappled with some frightening realities. The photo series became one of the 
earliest insights into families and communities affected by COVID-19. Participants in the photo essay also included Hollywood notables like Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, Christopher Guest.

Now, one year later, Curtis and Pugliese reunited to remember those photographs, revisit the families included and capture their present day in the short film Far Away, So Close--a reflection of the year everyone lived through, in words and images. 

Curtis premiered the short film on her Instagram account where it was heavily viewed. The short is narrated by Curtis and directed by Pugliese, with cinematography by Alex Themistocleous and editing by BANDIT’s Zeke O’Donnell.

ACROSS THE POND EXPANDS INTO GREATER CHINA
Across the Pond, an independent agency for tech brands, is expanding into Greater China with the appointment of Li Wei as managing director for the region. 

From her Shanghai base, Li Wei will boost Across the Pond’s creative reputation and business development in China as well as working in partnership with other agencies in the network. The agency was established in London in 2009 and has since grown to include offices in San Francisco and Singapore.

Previous positions for Li Wei include head of production at ImagineX Group, a brand management and distribution company for international luxury, designer fashion and lifestyle businesses, and before that, she was head of development at Beijing-based production company, Mandarin Film Production. Li Wei comes with deep experience in the world of creative production, having executive produced award winning documentaries about China for BBC, Amazon Prime and Tencent. 

Li Wei will work closely with Across the Pond’s APAC headquarters in Singapore and align with business strategy driven by the global headquarters in London. The agency’s clients include Google, Expedia, Facebook, and Chinese electronics company, Xiaomi. 

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE...
Oak Leaf Productions, an independent, minority-owned production, content and media company, has named Daniel Marin as its head of production. Oak Leaf was founded in 2019 to develop and produce media that appeals to diverse audiences, from small to large-scale productions. The Oak Leaf team was behind the successful launch of espacio.live, a new entertainment media property dedicated to delivering engaging, culturally relevant, in-language content to Latino audiences. Marin will report to Oak Leaf founder/CEO John Gallegos. Oak Leaf clients include SouthNorte Beer Co., California Department of Health and XFINITY. Marin has created, built and led production at firms within Publicis and WPP, and most recently at JOAN....

Post studio Absolute has expanded its VFX department in London with the hiring of Joe Tang as a Flame artist. Tang joins the team following a 10-year tenure at The Mill....