Alkemy X has added female animation and design collective Mighty Oak to its roster for U.S. commercial representation. Led by CEO/Executive Producer Jess Peterson, Head of Creative Talent Emily Collins and Creative Director Michaela Olsen, Mighty Oak's work has garnered over three billion collective online views and includes campaigns for brands and networks including General Electric, Netflix, Luna Bar, HBO, Samsung, NBC, Airbnb, Conde Nast, Adult Swim and The New York Times. Their first original short film, “Under Covers,” premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Danish director Nina Holmgren has joined Smuggler for U.S. and international representation for commercials and music videos. Holmgren is the winner of Young Directors Awards at 2019 Cannes Lions for her films “I Want You to Panic,” a cautionary tale about climate change, and “Right to Play,” a film about the founder of the first all-women’s soccer team in Afghanistan fighting for gender equality. Her film "Club 99.7," a tribute to old age about her grandfather for clothing brand Le Fix, won Best Branded Content at The One Show x Free the Bid and was shortlisted at Cannes Lions.
The Mill is adding to its directorial roster with two new signings, Ben Hansford and Rogier Schalken. Hansford is a U.S. director whose creative highlights include two Super Bowl spots for Old Spice featuring Terry Crews and a trailer for TNT’s “Drama Boom.” Schalken is from Amsterdam, where he was a head creative and founder of Media Monks’ film and post departments. His work has included an interactive film for Desperados “The Desperados Experience" and urban experiment “7 Days of Rain” for footwear brand Geox.
London-based production company Lief has signed Brazilian screenwriter and director Carolina Markowicz for commercial representation. A former copywriter at São Paulo ad agencies, her work includes commercials as well as short films, among them “The Orphan,” which premiered in Cannes and won the Cannes Queer Palm. Her films have screened at over 300 festivals including Cannes, Locarno, Toronto and AFI and been awarded with more than 100 prizes.
Bodega has added Juergen Bollmeyer to its roster of directors. Bollmeyer, based in Los Angeles, has worked across multiple genres for a broad range of clients in the automobile, lifestyle and healthcare industries. His portfolio includes clients such as Audi, Blue Cross, BMW, Byton, Chevy, Coca-Cola, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls Royce, T-Mobile and Toyota.
Toronto-based director, producer, and photographer Leo Zuckerman has joined Golden L.A. for his first U.S. representation. His work includes Toyota’s “Fun to Drive” spot and a documentary-style film for Indian Motorcycles featuring Carey Hart, as well as commercials for brands including Hyundai, Samsung, Nike, Subaru, and Adidas. He was hired by DDB Vancouver to work on campaign for the Canadian Tourism Commission while he was still at university. He then signed to Soft Citizen, which continues to rep him in Canada.
Creative studio Unicorns & Unicorns has opened its doors in L.A. specializing in filmmaking, advertising production and digital. The company is founded by Joanna Shaw, Sun Komen and Adrianne McCurrach, who worked together at Caviar. Executive Producer and Managing Partner Shaw has produced music videos for stars like Jay-Z and Pink and commercials for brands such as Nintendo, Ford, Toyota and the NFL. Technical Director and Managing Partner Komen helped craft digital experiences for Adidas, Toyota, Fanta and others hrough her own personal studios and via Caviar Digital, which she helped build from the ground up. Executive Producer and Managing Partner McCurrach has worked with a range of different entertainment, film and production companies, including on several Super Bowl spots for TurboTax, Coke and Mountain Dew.
ChuckStudios, a food-specialist creative production company, is opening a new U.K. base in London in partnership with HunkyDory Films. The London office will be headed up by Pete Ryan, formerly of Park Village, who has specialized in food-focused production for more than 13 years. Chuck Studios is headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in Moscow and Los Angeles.
Merritt Duff has joined Union as partner/editor, moving over from Beast. Duff’s recent editorial work includes “Frontier” for Hill Holliday, directed by The Perlorian Brothers, and a Mastercard project with PGA Tour golfers Justin Rose and Tom Watson via McCann N.Y.. He is also known for his Progressive campaigns via Arnold Boston with director Brendan Gibbons (including last month’s Progressive Halftime Show”). He has also twice been honored by the Primetime Emmy Awards for his contributions to “Saturday Night Live,” on which he served as an associate producer.
Framestore has appointed Akhauri P. Sinha as the head of its new, purpose-built Mumbai studio. Sinha joins from Method, where he was managing director of the studio’s Indian operations. He will report directly to Framestore’s global managing director, film, Fiona Walkinshaw. He has worked across film, TV and VFX for over 20 years, with a career spanning companies such as Nimbus, MPC, BBC Studios and UTV (now Disney India).
Whitehouse Post London has promoted Greg Hayes to editor. Hayes has worked for brands such as Reebok, Hugo Boss, W Hotels and Tommy Hilfiger and has collaborated on promos for global artists including Stormzy, the Weeknd, Ghetts and Gengahr, for whom he edited the U.K. MVA-nominated promo “Before Sunrise.”
