NVSBLE FREND APPEARS IN SHORT FILM
Streetwear apparel and lifestyle brand NVSBLE FREND explores its namesake and introduces the adorable mascot “Fred” in this short film Drawn Together, created by director Jack Welles and animated by Syd Simeone.

Produced by Andrew Brooks and Mark Renken in association with Valiant Pictures, the short from NVSBLE FREND brings a “friend” to life for one lonely hiker in the middle of the “wilderness,” a metaphor for the relatable existential crises of many young people today--thanks to both young adulthood and the state of the world--and the yearning need for a companion alongside life’s journey.

In the short, a young woman’s Jeep breaks down in the desert. This inconvenient and potentially dangerous event sends the avid outdoorswoman (Demi Renee Harman, Home and Away) on a journey of self-reflection…and toward the nearest populated town. Along the way, she meets a second intrepid traveler and soon-to-be bestie named Fred; they bond over small delights and a shared love of Goldfish crackers, with a touch of hand-drawn 2D magic. By the time viewers learn the creature was a product of her wandering imagination, it’s taken her on a tour of the stars and uplifted her spirits for the rest of her trek ahead.

The short was shot on 16mm film with an Arriflex 16SR2 camera from the 1980s. Animator Simeone hand drew the character “Fred” frame-by-frame directly over the film.  Welles is an Amsterdam-based director from San Francisco. His career is rooted in an art director role with global creative shop Wieden+Kennedy, producing campaigns for brands like Nike & EA Games.  

THINKINGBOX FILMS DIVISION LAUNCHES
Thinkingbox, a global creative collective agency with offices in NY, L.A. Salt Lake City, Toronto and Vancouver, B.C., has acquired Vancouver and Montreal-based live-action production company The Heist, thus creating a new division, Thinkingbox Films. 

The deal and launch add a Montreal office to the overall mix for Thinkingbox, as well as several directors, editors and producers. Mike Goldstein, founder of The Heist, now oversees the entire live-action division of Thinkingbox Films as director of film, live action. The Heist team will merge with the current animation team at Thinkingbox to form the new Films division....

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE....
Deluxe has appointed Samantha Kim to serve as managing director, business development, APAC. Kim, who will be based in Seoul, will report to Chris Reynolds, EVP and general manager of worldwide localization and fulfillment. In her new role, Kim will oversee Deluxe’s efforts to implement growth in localization and mastering in Southeast Asia, notably Korea, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia. With the tremendous growth trajectory in local language production in the Asia-Pacific region, Kim’s position signifies the necessity for on the ground teams in territory as the company continues to augment its global presence. Kim comes to Deluxe from Netflix where she helped establish the Korean team and drove operational strategy and execution of Korean content for global audiences. She also contributed to the global launch of Korean original content worldwide and built a competitive operational pipeline to introduce the streamer as a premiere destination for Korean content. Kim has over a decade of experience in the APAC media industry, having worked at Discovery, Iyuno and Samsung....