Bratt joins Big Block, Jandu takes leadership role at Framestore, French Butter Films opens

Big Block has added filmmaker Dara Bratt to its roster of directors. Bratt has experience working with brands such as Maybelline, PepsiCo, L'Oreal, Kiehl's, Puma, Essie and Kind as well as celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Gigi Hadid, Christy Turlington, Adriana Lima and Kerry Washington. Her films have screened at The Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, Cannes Film Festival, Abu Dhabi International Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, Short Short Film Festival Asia, and most recently on Topic.com. Director Brett Froomer has teamed up with agency executive producer Ivo Knezevic to launch French Butter Films. The new company, with offices in L.A. and Chicago, opens with an expertise in food, beverage and restaurant brands. Knezevic is best known for his 17-year tenure at the Chicago office of FCB. A Wisconsin native, he's also worked at Leo Burnett and has extensive experience with food and restaurant accounts, most notably KFC and McDonald's. Froomer directed spots for such brands as Taco Bell, Arby's, Post Cereals and Walmart, along with work recently for Buffalo Wild Wings and Home Chef. Director Sean Thonson has joined Wondros for representation. He has directed spots for automotive brands including BMW, Mercedes and Lexus as well as clients including Sears, Unilever, Brita, Schering-Plough, Corona, and Yamaha. Thonson has previously had tenures at production companies Supply & Demand and MJZ. 1stAveMachine has signed animation collective Brut for director representation. The collective, founded by 1stAveMachine rostered director Martin Allais and Executive Producer Maud Beckers, covers a full spectrum of animation styles such as sculptural CG, 2D and 3D animation, graphics, stop motion and illustration. Allais has previously created work for Oreo and Samsung, while Beckers has produced work with Argentinian animators Punga, and then moved to Amsterdam to launch Not To Scale. Alkemy X has expanded its directorial roster with the additions of Robert Boocheck and Jordan Fein. Boocheck, who was most recently repped by Honor Society, launched his film career working for director Sam Raimi and has since shot campaigns for such brands as Google, State Farm, Toyota, and Ray-Ban, as well as the recent comedic "Sometimes, Naked Is Better" spots for Wonderful Pistachios. His music videos credits include clips for seminal punk and indie bands, such as Bad Religion and Death Cab For Cutie. Fein, previously repped by Hone Production, has helmed campaigns for Squarespace, Range Rover, Verizon, and Adobe. Before that, he was with 1stAveMachine, where his "Highway Robbery" spot for Volvo was awarded three Cannes Lions and a One Show Award in 2016. Hornet has added artist and filmmaker Andrew Myers to its roster. Based in New York, his work has been published in the "New Yorker," "Time," "Le Monde," and "Wired," among others, and he has worked for clients including Google, IBM, Hermes, Puma, Verizon and Airbnb. Freshteh is joining the London-based production company Park Village for U.K. representation. Born in Iran and raised in Sweden, Freshteh has directed commercials and creative content for brands such as & Other Stories, Reschia, O'Neill, Plan International and Ellos, and has also worked as a producer at MTV, as a choreographer and as as a casting director for features, series, and commercials. She's also an influencer in the Stockholm music scene, as an active DJ. Gentleman Scholar has added Sean Martin to its roster as a creative director/director in its New York Studio. Martin has spent the past eight years at Psyop, beginning in design, and moving through 2D, 3D and compositing to eventually become a director in 2016. He has since directed for Apple, Google, Honda, Samsung, Tiffany, Xbox and others. Unit9 films has promoted Adam Dolman to managing director for Europe. Originally joining as the Head of Films in 2015, Dolman will work with the the production team in London to grow production services. Framestore has hired Suzanne Jandu as head of 2D in London, working across its advertising, television and immersive divisions. Her career includes working on feature films including the "Harry Potter" franchise; and as lead compositor on "The Jungle Book" with MPC, and on both "Ready Player One" and "Jurassic World." She has received Emmy and VES nominations for work across both film and advertising. Dictionary Films has promoted Cody McGuire to senior producer and added senior producer Joe Kirkendall to the company's full-time staff. Both are based in Chicago. McGuire started with Dictionary Films as an intern and has produced projects of all sizes for clients such as The Chicago Bears, Hillshire Farm, Honda, Illinois Tourism and Kellogg's. Kirkendall has spent most of the past seven years freelancing for Dictionary Films. His credits for the company include producing commercials for Allen Edmonds, Corona, The Chicago Bears, Foot Joy, Frontier Communications, Helix, Home Depot and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Bratt joins Big Block, Jandu takes leadership role at Framestore, French Butter Films opens

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