TOMBOY FILMS BLOG

Season's greetings from LOCOG

2012-03-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

Tomboy are pleased to announce that we have been appointed to make a series of documentary films for LOCOG to promote the London 2012 Olympic games. Dean Rogers directed this festive short that was accessed by over 7 million people.

CHOCCY PHILLY "WARNING"

2012-03-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

Here is the second installment of the three “Choccy Philly” spots by Tomboy director Dominic Brigstocke. It seems to be growing on her.

Congratulations Joel Veitch!

2012-03-01T08:33:00.004-08:00

Congratulations Joel Veitch! Tomboy director behind the Crusha ads has just had a new baby girl.

Eddie Izzard for LOCOG

2012-02-29T10:44:00.002-08:00

Tomboy are pleased to announce that we have been appointed to make a series of documentary films for LOCOG to promote the London 2012 Olympic games. To date, we have worked with Sir Paul Smith, Chris Evans, Eddie Izzard and Idris Elba. The videos will be accessed by more than 7 million people a week.

Idris Elba for LOCOG

2012-02-29T10:40:00.001-08:00

Sir Paul Smith for LOCOG

2012-02-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

Tomboy are pleased toannounce that we have been appointed to make a series of documentary films forLOCOG to promote the London 2012 Olympic games. To date, we have workedwith Sir Paul Smith, Chris Evans, Eddie Izzard and Idris Elba. The videos will beaccessed by more than 7 million people a week.

CHOCCY PHILLY

2012-02-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

Tomboy's Dominic Brigstocke directs this new viral for Cadbury’s chocolate flavored Philadelphia. At this stage in the new campaign, Jennifer Saunders isn't convinced. Choccy Philly? Don’t be silly.

Karan Kandhari is a winner...

2012-02-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that the wonderful tomboy director Karan Kandhari has been awarded with the Fujifilm/You Must Create winning title which is part of their popular "Complete 16 film & processing package". To view the full article please follow the link below:

http://www.complete16.com/enewsletter/ymc-winner.html

Marcus Tomlinson: Nowness

2012-02-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Marcus Tomlinson's spectacle and new short film, once again plays with new boundaries in film making.

This film was created for the high profile fashion website Nowness.

One of IMG's top models 'Ajaks' is the star of the show.

Check out the work here:

http://mtstudio.tv/10-02-12/nowness

Saunders and Brigstocke launch new choccy product

2012-02-12T03:19:00.000-08:00

Dominic Brigstocke has recently completed shooting some work for JWT featuring Jennifer Saunders. It's for a new product - a chocolate philadelphia cheese no less. They are as you'd imagine pretty hilarious - the webisodes go live on 17th....

New toys commercial...

2012-01-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Scott and John, the Tomboy directing duo who shot the Listerine TV spot and viral work for JWT late last year recently wrote a script for a toy brand to fulfil one of their directing desires to work with children. Tomboy loved the script so much that we decided to produce it and we couldn't be happier with the results. Enjoy!

New Churchill Campaign for WCRS

2012-01-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

The new 60" TV spot for the launch of the new Churchill campaign went live on Boxing day 2011.

Martin Clunes plays the role of best buddy to the familiar & loveable dog "Churchill", who has been the starring face of the insurance businesses brand for many years now.

The next of the campaign can be viewed on David Reviews:

http://www.davidreviews.com/DRAd.asp?From=DRAd&ClipID=32168&SPCount=0&StartRow=0&UserID=&Special=&ListID=&Latest=

TOMBOY FILMS BLOG: LOVE OF FOOD

2011-12-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

TOMBOY FILMS BLOG: LOVE OF FOOD: It is nearly Christmas and the shops are filled with things that will expand our waistlines considerably over the next couple of we...

LOVE OF FOOD

2011-12-14T03:12:00.000-08:00

It is nearly Christmas and the shops are filled with things that will expand our waistlines considerably over the next couple of weeks. The painfully tight jeans and love handles will be the thing that will send us on a laborious slimming regime come the New Year.

For now, however, we must relax and enjoy this annual ritual and what more tempting than platters of fine French food shot by the expert foodie director & photographer on his worldly travels earlier this year?

Patrick Cadell is a fine director, having worked his magic with luxurious brands such as Sainsbury's, Gu, The Grocer & Carluccio's to produce tantalising spots. It is clear that (although Patrick is adamant not to get branded as a pure foodie director!) his passion for food is the reason for his luxuriously mouthwatering capabilities.

One might expect Patrick to be vast in size (he's not) as he spent his holidays crafting platters of food to picture perfection - the results of his summertime efforts have been well received by the tomboy team as we sit salivating at our desks awaiting the strike of 1 pm and we will go out for our team Christmas lunch.

Bon Déjeuner...

LISTERINE spot by Scott & John doing exceptionally well...

2011-12-06T06:52:00.001-08:00

JWT just gave us some great news when they sent through results that the Listerine commercial that Scott & John directed for them came in as the 5th most watched ad on You Tube in 2011.

The humorous spot directed by the successful duo was a recreation of a giant mouth and all the things your mouth has to battle against during the day...germs, food & decay; Poker faced midgets in "gum suits" form the front line, whilst goofy males make up the teeth in second to defend themselves against all sorts of giant attackers.

Highly amusing and an ingenious way of making a dental wash tv commercial interesting and engaging, this spot demonstrates how a great creative team & brilliant directing duo have collaborated and created an interesting idea and a highly watchable (clearly!) TV commercial.

Images from the TV spot were used to create a 360 campaign in press, tv & online.

Congratulations to both S&J & to JWT .

To watch the directors cut, go to:

http://www.tomboyfilms.co.uk/directors/commercials/scott-jon/listerine-mouth-vs-life

CHURCHILL

2011-11-28T02:10:00.001-08:00

Comedy genius Dom Bridgestock and Henry Braham on set for the new Churchill ad.

Working with WCRS we're wondering what will the new ads entail...?

Wuthering Heights: Screening

2011-11-22T02:54:00.001-08:00

At the private Wired Cinema on Charlotte Street last night we were treated to the new Andrea Arnold adaption of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

What was the outcome? It is still difficult to decipher what the general opinion concluded... as the credits flashed up on the screen our little cinema remained in utter silence, our faces upturned, mouths open watching the screen until the last title faded out.

Undeniably, the cinematography, picture quality and art direction was out of this world and Arnold's brave decision to cast two children off the streets to play the younger Catherine & Heathcliff payed off, their performances, especially Catherine's were unexpectedly professional and convincing.

Wuthering Heights is a classic of English literature and it's well known that it's far from fairytale; the narrative's stark depiction of the bleak Northern English moorland, mental and physical cruelty is what has inspired so many adaptions of this 19th century novel from radio, ballet, musicals and opera to date.

In this latest, Andrea Arnold is not shy about exposing us to the relentless pain and cruelty that the Emily Bronte's original narrative is filled with, she ensures that we feel this constantly throughout the film. From the stark landscape, symbolic cinematography, to the typical Andrea Arnold-style crude realism with shockingly un-PC scenes; hints of necrophilia, & the honest, rudimentary portrayal of mans relationship with animals. Most prominent, is in the way communication is kept to the necessary, silences dominate and punctuate the film making it uncomfortable and painful for the audience.

This version of the classic can most definitely be credited with transferring the mental pain, intensity & bleak helplessness of those characters from the 19th century into us, the present modern day audience of the 21st century. Lets say it is something which will leave you speechless and deep in thought provoking stupor for at least twenty four hours.

Love it or hate it, you can't argue with the fact that Arnold has managed to emulate a piece of history & justly translate the narrative emotions from a writer over two centuries ago without giving us an inch of nostalgia or opportunity to romance an era.

Check out the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoOuB9PAVug

Why don't do Directors Do Digital?

2011-11-16T03:21:00.001-08:00

We had a lovely evening last week at the Filthy McNasty's pub in Clerkenwell. Interesting people, lots of drink, delicious food...But more to the point we were actually there for a very relevant talk, or should we call it debate.. On why digital doesn't do directors?

The eve was hosted by Leo Burnett and their "hyper media" specialist Ben Lunt was chairing the night.
Graced with panelists from Stink, Disqo, Pirata and Unit 9 - the definite pioneers in digital production the topic seemed to bring up a host of complications.

Whilst it's simple to have a director for film & tv, live action in the traditional sense is usually fairly straightforward in terms of the projected medium & we usually know how and where the audience will be viewing.

Digital is so much more complicated - what is digital? It covers SO many different areas, from an app, a banner ad, a website to a live action viral..it's pretty difficult to consolidate this into one category.

However, my take on the issue is that any live action footage required for a digital format should obviously require a director to ensure that the right content is captured..regardless of the medium it's something all directors in our current moment should be able to grasp. We no longer shoot ads solely for TV & cinema use, but they can be used everywhere and the director WILL be able to adjust the footage and edit accordingly.

The grey area is when we go outside the live action boundary and this is when it's more about hand-holding the agency. An agency is used to a particular structure and require a leader...endless problems come when there's no leader. A director is obviously someone with enormous talents but a huge part of their job is instilling confidence - being God to the team, to the agency, and making the sure there aren't too many cooks spoiling the broth.

There's clearly far more to debate and we look forward to continuing debates and discussions, broadening this area and developments.

Thank you Leo's for hosting such a great evening & for pioneering this discussion.

Beverley Fortnum joins Tomboy Films

2011-11-15T01:58:00.001-08:00

We are very pleased to announce that director Beverley Fortnum has joined Tomboy films.

Beverly Fortnum is one of the few award winning female creative directors in the industry and having started out working in global agencies including Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey and Leo Burnett, she has produced memorable, iconic and award-winning work for super brands Pantene, Hugo Boss, Olay, Renault, Clairol and The Guardian. In 2006 she decided to follow her passion for directing and has since directed commercials for major brands including Dove, Max Factor, Clairol, Lynx and Next. She's never looked back..

She brings to Tomboy a lot with her experience with hair and beauty direction as well as a roster of fmcg brands.

Her most recent and successful collaboration with retailer Next, combined her talents as both Creative Director and Director, and has re-established them as one of the UK’s leading fashion high street retailers. Her work has proven that she not only produces insightful and inspiring advertising, she combines beautiful visuals with clear story telling, which inspires and elevates the brand.

We are looking forward to the Olay spot which she directed for Saatchi & Saatchi recently to air.

Welcome Beverley, we're looking forward to creating brilliant work with you!

MIS FITS SCREENING

2011-11-14T03:57:00.001-08:00

A+W have now completed the filming for the latest MISFITS series.

Exhausted but satisfied they've arranged the screening for 24th November. We're told the cast will be there so are very excited about getting signatures!

Ferrero Rocher - new spot

2011-11-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, where we moan, but secretly love the signs of decadent seasonal spirit brought to us by retailers with the ever nearing and impending date of Christmas.

We should be enjoying the wonderful window displays appearing in the shops, the lights landing down the high streets, the abundance of tempting treats in the supermarket & the endless Christmas Party invites..

We all moan about the decadence of the season, but we must remember to relish and enjoy this colourful time of year before we land in the January doom and bear the cold for the three months of nothingness before the first signs of spring crack through..

And yes, we must also enjoy the Christmas spots on TV and the cheesy joy that it brings!

One of the first to bless our screens is one of the new Forerro Rocher spot "Golden Lights", created by Rainey Kelly and directed by tomboy director Sandra Goldbacher. Enjoy and tingle.....

THE FADES....

2011-11-07T07:04:00.001-08:00

Tomboy's Tom Shankland, has been busy directing the new & spectacular BBC youth drama comedy "The Fades".

Set in a present-day London, in a ‘this could happen tomorrow’ kind of way, the hero is Paul - a 17 year-old geek who wets the bed, gets bullied by his twin sister and has only one friend in the world. He also keeps having these weird dreams, that have started coming true.

The drama has been highly accoladed with critics saying it's been so well directed and executed that it is amazingly impactful and interesting,

The cast of this show is pretty much faultless, from Tom Ellis as hapless teacher Mark, to Daniela Nardini as a magical vicar, to Paul’s cheeky, pop-culture obsessed friend Mac (Daniel Kaluuya). Ian de Caestecker is great as geeky main character Paul.

Halloween review

2011-11-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

So I know we're a little bit late for a review of a halloween spot, but I stumbled across this AXE spot and felt the need to say something..

First impressions and you think it might be quite funny, second impression - it's actually pretty poor in terms of the narrative being so damned obvious and even the quality of acting.

I know it's supposed to be tongue in cheek - but whilst the initial chase is fairly amusing, the change from disgust to lust is so rapid and poorly acted that whatever impact there may have been is diminished.

Halloween poses the most brilliant opportunity for less corporate brands to come up with some ingenious fun...it's a shame to say that whilst being a fan of the majority of the Lynx branding work, this one is a bit of a let down...

Perhaps we're being bah humbug or have a ailing humour...review at your will...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgEKpggG8gI

The Hour - Sandra Goldbacher landed

2011-10-31T04:30:00.000-07:00

The Hour has landed a new director for the next series, a talented and illustrative director with an appreciation of glamour and sensuous visuality.

BBC2 has been fortunate enough to bring in Sandra Goldbacher (Tomboy films commercial director) to direct The Hour, a glamorous and thrilling series set in 1956 which will hit our screens in 2012.

The six part series which takes viewers behind the scenes of the launch of a topical news programme in London 1956 with an all colourful star cast which includes Romola Garai (Crimson, Petal and The White, Atonement), Dominic West (The Wire, The Devil's Whore) and Ben Whishaw (Bright Star, Criminal Justice, Brideshead Revisited).

With a highly competitive, sharp-witted and passionate love triangle at the heart of the series, it's through the lives of enigmatic Bel and her rivals, Freddie and Hector, that viewers will witness the decade on the threshold of change – from the ruthless sexual politics behind the polite social façade of the Fifties to the revelations that redefined the world for a new generation.

Over the six episodes, the interplay and intense ambitions between our rising news team play out against the backdrop of a mysterious murder and Freddie's controversial and dangerous investigation.

Ben Whishaw plays Freddie Lyon, a brilliant and outspoken journalist, whose passion endlessly lands him in trouble.

Romola Garai plays Bel Rowley, spirited and ambitious, and facing the most exciting and daunting challenge of her life – running The Hour.

Dominic West will be playing Hector Madden, charming, charismatic – a man whose upbringing and education have instilled in him a sense of entitlement. But beneath the confident façade Hector has a lot to prove.

It all sounds very complicated with enough energy and character for everyone to enjoy. We're 100% confident that Sandra will bring this colourful script to life in the way that the writer intended.

In the commercial world, Sandra's new spot for Forerro Rocher will be released early November and we're already getting sneak peaks from the various PR magazines who suggest it's going to be a big one.. check out Brand Republic:

http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1101339/Ferrero-ditches-stuffy-ambassador-image/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH

"What Richard Did"

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

"What Richard Did", written by Malcolm Campbell and directed by Lenny Abrahamson (who is represented by tomboy in a commercial sense) has finished filming and is due to be released next year the film follows a group of privileged teens over the course of the summer after they leave school.

Loosely based on the award-winning novel, Bad Day at Blackrock by Kevin Powers, it focuses in particular on Richard, the popular school rugby hero, whose life is changed forever after a senseless act of violence.

Featuring a huge number of rising young stars such as Jack Reynor, Sam Keeley and Roisin Murphy as well as established talent including Lorraine Pilkington and Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing), the film was shot for five weeks around Dublin and Wicklow.

The feature is supported by the Irish Film Board and made with Element Pictures, the agency responsible for producing such films as 'The Guard', 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley', and film extroadinaoire 'The Magdalen Sisters'.

Glad to have something to look forward to watching 2012.

ABOVE: Lenny on set

ROSTO AD - THE MONSTER OF THE NIX

2011-10-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

“Picking up existential threadsand tying them into a fabric of fate, storybook endings and fairytalereferences, this twisted cartoon is riveting stuff.”

Words of wisdom from the LFF on Rosto - a man of incredible talent; animation director who is represented by tomboy films in the commercial world.

Rosto has recently been highlyprofiled at film festivals around the world. His film “The Monster of the Nix”has been reviewed by LFF as “an epic 30-minute animation,..a stunningshot of imagination”.

The narrative follows the story of“Nix” is a peaceful & idyllic fairytale village until a monster appears andthe world starts to disappear. Luckily a young character called ‘Willy”, theprotagonist, and is there to fight him alone. The style of animation, the narrativeand visuals combine to create an idiosyncratic world.

The LFF goes on to saythat the “Director and screenwriter Rosto has imbued his film with a sense ofsurrealism. It is engaging as viewers will wonder what weird character orincident will pop up next.”

“Picking up existential threadsand tying them into a fabric of fate, storybook endings and fairytalereferences, this twisted cartoon is riveting stuff.”

With a gothic score and haunting vocals (TomWaits and Terry Gilliam both lend a larynx), The Monster of Nix is apost-modern musical like no other. “It feels completely new, and the visualsare steeped in writer/director Rosto’s unique demented style”. Justwhen you think you have a handle on it, up pops a rolling nudist giant. Crazy,surreal and rather spellbinding.

Those who like unusual animatedfeatures should definitely check The Monster of Nix out.

The Monster of Nix has been screenedat the BFI London Film Festival throughout October 2011 as part of the‘International Animation Panorama Programme 1′. It willend on the 27^th.

It will feature around the world at masses of otherfilm festivals in the year to come. To check out the screening log, log on tothe facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Monster-Of-Nix/110433722341402

Check out the you tube video here.http://www.youtube.com/theewreckers

A&W - MISFITS

2011-10-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

Filming has come to an end on Series 3 of E4's Bafta-nominated smash hit drama series Misfits, and Alex Garcia & Wayne Yip (Co-directors), best known as A&W are winding down from a deliriously enjoyable but exhausting experience & putting the final edits together in lIght of the first screening..

New kid on the block Rudy(Joe Gilgun) gets a rude awakening in his first few days of community service, learning that with the keys to the infamous locker comes a great deal of running and screaming and, in some instances, bloodletting. But that really is the least of his worries. More pressing is just how to keep his secret superpower, well, secret. And is it super? As in from the A- List?

The rest of the gang are also back with all-new powers - Misfits resident delinquents Bafta nominee Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Antonia Thomas and Iwan Rheon in the super-sized series which sees its run extended to eight episodes.

But just how did that trade off with Seth (Matthew McNulty), the superpower dealer, go down? You would hope that at least one of them has a power approaching something halfway useful. You would hope... Is Simon any closer to fulfilling his destiny as Superhoodie? And just where does he learn to do all that nifty parkour?

With Seth still trading powers, zombies on the loose, havoc being wreaked with events from the past and even more havoc being wreaked in the present, things haven't got any quieter for our gang...

We're anticipating glory..and will look forward to the invite to the screening!!

HARD HAT - SCREENING

2011-10-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Karan Kandari's new short film "Hard Hat"; "A melancholy comedy about three immigrants that meet on a cash-in-hand construction job in today's London." will be screened this Sunday 16th October at The Ritzy in Brixton, 7.30pm.

Next up it's at the Kerry Film Festival in Ireland on the 4th of November - Details here - http://www.kerryfilmfestival.com/index.php/archives/2463

Article - http://www.spinetv.net/mag/2011/Jul/26/fuji-film-shorts/

Review - http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=19040

Awards, Fests, Nominations:

Winner - Audience Award - Rushes Soho Shorts - 2010
Winner - Best Comedy - Super Shorts International - 2010
Nominated - Best Film & Best Cinematography - Fuji Film Shorts Award 2011
Nominated - International Award - Tampere Film Festival - 2011
Official Selection - European Short Film Festival of Brest, France - 2010
Official Selection - Helsinki International Film Festival - 2010
Official Selection - London East End Film Festival - 2010
Broadcast Premiere - Canal Plus France - March 2011
Broadcast Re-Run - Canal Plus France - June 2011
Broadcast - Canal Plus Africa - 2011

Ben Caron - directing the new series of Skins for E4

2011-10-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Series Six of "Skins" is currently being shot and we can't wait to see what the next round of teenage antics will bring us. We're expecting more of the wonderfully chaotic & vibrant characters; fuelled with the usual frustrations, sex, drugs and wayward friendships.

Even more exciting is the fact that our very own Ben Caron will be directing the latest episode - which means we'll get all the gossip from behind the scenes.

Watch this space...

Bring on a bit of old fashioned community spirit..... the government should begin by focusing on generating respect for wider family & our elders.

2011-10-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

A campaign headline caught our eye this morning as we saw that the cabinet office are looking for a creative agency....The agency will take on the challenge of bringing around a more communal spirit amongst our youths through a new advertising campaign...

The challenge is definitely there...it's a sore subject for us - as we Brits are pretty useless at doing the whole caring act towards our immediate family & neighbours, let alone the wider community.... Instead we opt for independence & fairly typically we present ourselves as stoically un-emotional & private.

Unlike our Italian & European neighbours where families of twenty will camp under the same roof; a newborn will be looked after by the 97 year old great grandmother, where younger generations look up to the elders for their worldly experience and neighbours will pull together in times of crisis - everyone gets involved when the chips are down.

We believe this condones a further sense of community spirit where people become mindful of others in general. Respect migrates beyond the family to local shops, businesses, social care etc

Us Brits are stereotypical nuclear families, guilty of concentrating on the immediate family and abandoning thoughts of our elders after marriage. Grandparents tend to be visited at Christmas and Easter & other special occasions rather than on a day to day basis...& any family in regular contact with Aunts, Uncles, cousins and more distant relations are a rare find.

Our argument thus is that in order to be successful with this community message the government should first be focusing on bringing the idea of family, internal & neighbourly values back to Britain ...this in turn will make us more caring, more community driven people.

Forcing young people to look after their elders from birth, inclusion of visiting sick next-door neighbours, fixing broken lightbulbs will ensure that people are intrinsically and naturally engrossed in community spirit and will see the world through different sets of eyes, from other, less fortunate people...and perhaps even learn something..

It will immediately generate more caring, focused and adaptable people and bring back a massive sense of respect to our youths & people.

We need to be less reliant on stark public healthcare and the tax system to look after our precious generations & bring a personal element back to care & community. If there's a family then there should be no reason for care homes or government support on a day to day basis. Has Britain lost all it's morality and sense of respect?

Lets hope the agency who win this pitch look at this particular angle when working the campaign..

Is this Van Damme relaunching himself as an ageing hippy vs the muscle we used to see..

2011-10-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

John Claude Van Damme has returned to our screens as part of a Coors Light online campaign, nowadays looking less like the muscly hulk out of Universal solider and more like an ageing Dorset hippy.

Clever VCCP realised that the satirical spot could perfectly incorporate the legendary Van Damme with their Coors Light brand & grab the attention of men who will easily remember being obsessive child fans of the bicepped hero.

Van Damme plays the angry "muscles from Brussels" failing in his attempt to live in the Alpine snow for three days as he tries to recreate the temperature of a Coors Light.

The campaigns been drip fed throughout the summer from July onwards and seeded through You Tube and Facebook...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjD074okg00

Latest rendition of Faust wins Gold..

2011-10-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

Russian Director Alexander Sokurov's won Venice film festival's top prize - a Golden Lion for his modern rendition on the classic beating top contendors Roman polanski, David Kronenburg and George Clooney.

Set in the 19th century, it is a free interpretation of the Faust legend and its literary adaptations by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann. The dialogue is in German.

The film is the final part in a series of films where Alexander Sokurov explores the corrupting effects of power.. Adolf Hitlerin Moloch from 1999, Vladimir Lenin in Taurus from 2001, and the Japanese emperor Hirohito from 2005.

Some critics have said that the film is just a big Russian cultural project for Putin ie. He saw it as a film that could introduce the Russian mentality into European culture; to promote integration between Russian and European culture...

However, head of the jury at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky, best known for Black Swan, said: "There are films which make you dream, make you cry, laugh and think, and there are films which change your life forever. This is one of those films.”

The film, which beat 22 contenders to the prize, has reaffirmed Sokurov’s place at the table of great Russian film directors.

Sokurov, 60, says his obsession with dictators and with Faust goes back 30 years: “It’s amazing so little attention is paid to Faust. If any politician reads Faust everything is there. It’s as if it is written in the 21st century, not the 19th century.

Faust tells the story of a professor, played by Johannes Zeiler, who craves knowledge and sells his soul for the love of Margarete, played by   Isolda Dychauk. It is the final instalment of Sokurov’s  series about the corrupting nature of power – Moloch, Taurus and The Sun featured Hitler, Lenin and Hirohito  respectively.

A huge amount of historical research went into the movie, which is scripted in German but filmed on location in Spain and Iceland, where replicas of early 19th-century German cities were built. Although Sokurov is a festival legend, he claims not to enjoy the festival experience and strangely doesn't like the praise he receives, generally disliking what the critics say. “No one is going to be harsher than me in criticism,” he says. “I know what I wanted to do and what didn’t work better than anyone. Once I start to talk about the faults of Faust , you will never stop me.”

But the critics and judges at Venice clearly did not see these faults as they lavished praise on the movie.

Sokurov has a reputation for being difficult, uncompromising, and unafraid to offend the authorities. His early films were banned by the Soviet authorities, which brought him international attention. His film Mournful Unconcern, which was made in 1983, was banned by Soviet authorities until perestroika, and was  finally released in 1987.

Congratulations Sokurov.

John Madden on his new film release "THE DEBT"..

2011-09-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

John Madden does big features, and he's one of our commercial directors which makes us very proud!

He's a modest man, considering the Oscar nominations, the fact he's directed hottie Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, and the Debt, worked with legendary Anthony Hopkins and recently finished his latest release "The Debt" with Helen Mirren...

This newest thriller, The Debt, is an adaptation of an Israeli film that follows three Mossad agents attempting to smuggle a Nazi war criminal out of East Germany to face trial in 1965.

With mixed reviews, some excellent & some more detrimental - but mainly with the negative ones pointing out that the weakness lies within the plot with the direction and acting being brilliant.

Empire say "Offers something for those looking for a film with more on its mind than simple set-pieces."

Post filming, John talked of the challenges, casting and the weather..

In terms of location, the challenge was to find and create the gritty atmosphere required for a post war Belinesque look. Original plans to film in Berlin were discarded as no-where in this day and age seemed to match the requirements and it was decided that they would film in old Budapest in order to achieve the more tragic periodic mood - where gun shots from bullets still dotted wooden balconies & there were more scars left over from the actual war.

He talked of the way that the brutality of the winter whilst filming meant that snow was often being cleared off the road up to three hours before filming outdoor scenes..making it tough conditions to work in..

And on casting he admits that he had Helen (whom he'd previously worked with in Prime Suspect) in mind for the role before the script had even been finalised, but that for the younger Mirren he wanted an unknown.

So Jessica Chastain, who he describes as a very bright girl, free, and so careful in the way she prepares so she’s utterly relaxed and clear when she comes to do it, was cast.

Watch the film and make an opinion for yourself..

Ben Caron holds fort, challenging hyper active children to sit still.......

2011-09-26T03:14:00.000-07:00

C-Beebies gave Ben Caron a bit of a last challenge when they asked him to direct the new Justin's House "Can't sit still" TV spot...

Ben found the script charming and was looking forward to the prospect of bringing the story to life and challenging children to sit still during an episode of Justin’s House - keeping the tone funny, sweet and light.

Essentially, the comic "Justin's House" show is so entertaining to children that it's very difficult for them to sit still. So in a what looks like a proper C-Beebies world, the children are are immersed into a world of party games, ring a roses, & musical chairs style as they find it impossible not to react to their favourite show.

We won't give away any of Ben's directional tricks, but as we watch each child battle their instinct to giggle, wriggle, dance and joyfully respond to the show, we know he's done an amazing job.
Working & directing with children is no mean feat, but it's something Ben can most definitely put on his capabilities list.. In fact it was clear from speaking to him about the production, that he more than enjoyed the whole process and seemed to relish the natural reactions and joy that the children gave to the process.

The spot has bags of charm and humour, plus a Bjork soundtrack to top it off.

A chat with Mario Cavalli..

2011-09-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

Mario came in for a coffee on Wednesday, mainly due to the fact that he is directing some of the work we are doing for the Olympics..but, in addition to give direction and design our new tomboy logo (watch this space!).

A great character, he's been friends with Barnaby (partner of tomboy films, and well known producer) for over twenty years and they have worked together many times in these years.

Mario took us through all his work and it's an impressive collection - he's a man of many styles and can put his hand to almost any brief...not just animation direction for which he's the most renowned for, but live action & photography.

Having been wowed by his endless reels & discovery that he won an award whilst at film school to produce and direct the script he'd written - we scanned the web for more information and found that Mario has won an enormous number of prizes and has directed dozens of commercials, music videos and short films.

He has a passion for travel and used his iPhone on one particular trip to capture moments throughout the journey and hasn't looked back since. He's now an advocate for simplifying the amount of equipment and a big fan of modern technology to minimise the luggage required to achieve results.

Exemplified here:

Definitely someone you could spend a whole day chatting to and you wouldn't even scrape the surface.

Dominick Bridgestock returns to filming HORRIBLE HISTORIES PART 3.....

2011-09-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Horrible Histories: 3.6 & 3.7, directed by Tomboy's commercial director and all time comedy genius Dominic Brigstocke is about to start being filmed...

We can't wait to see the next series which will allegedly introduce some new features and the return of some most loved originals...

The pet shop and Horrible Points of View will come back to our screens following the format of a man coming into a pet shop (manned by Martha Howe-Douglas) who wants to buy a pet, and the shop clerk gets more and more horrified at his reasons behind it and refuses to sell him any animals. For instance, coming in to buy a dog in order to rip its entrails out to tell the future ... where do they get the imagination from to come up with these lines?!

In Horrible Points of View, Mathew Baynton has a mail bag from a historical era, who have written in to the BBC....a satirical rip off of the BBC customer feedback show, where people write in to voice complaints...you have to watch to understand...

Our sources tell us that other features making a comeback are the historical paramedics, still out there causing havoc on the pavements of modern Britain.

Anyway - don't want to ruin all of the excitement...we anticipate great things. Don't let us down Dom!

Sandra Goldbacher helps young girls to retain and relish their childhoods...

2011-09-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Sandra, ourcritically acclaimed, award-winning director, twice BAFTA nominated forher period feature films ‘Me Without You’ and the ‘Governess’ has nowimmersed herself in the brilliantly creative project "A girlfor all time"…

The projectis all about the creation of a doll and imaginative world designed for girlsaged 8  plus who are too old to play withbaby- dolls but for whom the toys on offer were inappropriate for their agegroup ie... pushing little girls too quickly into the world of adulthood andsexual behaviours.. 

Which isfitting as Sandra's films focus on stories which explore the complexity andintensity of young female friendships.

Her mostrecent feature length film for the BBC’s Christmas slot was an adaptation ofthe children’s classic ‘Ballet Shoes’ by Noel Streatfeild, starring EmmaWatson, which won best film at the Rome TV festival.

For the fullstory go to the new website:

http://www.agirlforalltime.com/about

2011-09-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Tomboy have recently signed Karan Khandari - a British Asian director who won an award for Bye Bye Miss Goodnight. It was filmed in Bombay and garnered the Best Cinematography award at the Portobello Film Festival for its bold use of the city's natural light in its digital cinematography.

Recent spota BTAA "Jelly" spot is unique and interesting - particularly ambitious and intelligent. Visually it's exciting and you get a real sense that this director knows what he's doing and is passionate.

I can see Karan doing high fashion & high class, seductive alcohol brands - he's got an edge required for this industry. We like the sleekness associated with Karan and are very pleased he chose to come to tomboy - we know that there's big things to come.

A quote from BBC film director David Parkinson: "Offering a uniquely avant-garde snapshot of modern urban India, this visually ambitious road movie belies its modest budget to chronicle the unlikely encounter between a daydreaming Mumbai cabby and a pregnant, hitchhiking free spirit.".

check out more here:

http://www.tomboyfilms.co.uk/directors/digital/karan-kandhari

Yes Art does sell - and vodka cocktails...

2011-09-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

Some incredible talent at ART SELLS last night, we felt privileged to be part of such a good crowd.

A few sore heads this morning due to a few too many of the delicious ABSOLUT vodka cocktails who were sponsoring the event.

Chatting to Nat Turton from BMB and we all agreed people in the industry (on the whole) SO nice, so interesting and what a wonderful group to be part of.

Very much enjoyed the food which was "Niche Quiche" by "Vegetarian imaginarium" the new imaginative start up ...the spicy coronation chickpea was delicious and a suitably creative food to match the setting. Check them out at nichequiche.com.

Particularly liked creative team from The Red Brick Road - Pablo and Howard's quirky Christmas Cards.. a nice step away from the a-typical waste of trees:

You can buy them directly by emailing: pabloandhoward@hotmail.co.uk

Overall - an excellent night, we could do with more of these to inspire and affirm.

Celebrating the pure artistic talent of creative's in the Advertising world...

2011-09-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

This evening we're very excited to be attending the ART SELLS exhibition run by higher pitch.

A brilliant idea that will bring a rare opportunity for creative's in the advertising industry to showcase their raw talent..

An evening at the uber trendy Village Underground in Shoreditch and will be an exhibit of art from creative's around the world...

Mixed media artwork, from photographer Dylan Collard, BBH's Rosie Arnold and over sixty other pieces of original work from industry figures will be there for all to see.

Suzie Quill, co-founder of Higher Pitch, said "The fact that we have received works of art from people in so many different countries just goes to show the lack of creative freedom is a frustration felt throughout the international advertising community".

As featured in campaign magazine:

http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1091075/art-sells-exhibition-showcase-creative-talent

twitter: @HigherPitch

Our Kirk Jones on set in LA

2011-09-13T06:21:00.001-07:00

Kirk Jones, director for new film "What to expect when you're expecting" just sent us a snap from the set;

A will-be famous golf buggy scene - involving a whole host of famous US super stars - J-Lo, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Chace Crawford, Elizabeth Banks, Rodrigo Santoro..to name but a few. Even our own fellow brit Chezza in her bid to crack America is cameoing..full article on Vogue:

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/08/12/cheryl-cole-film-debut

Set to be a box office massive...we're looking forward to Kirk coming back to the UK to make some commercials with us again..

2011-09-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Tomboy's Glynis on the set for the new ferrero rocher. Shame we managed to consume the whole two boxes that we received before Benedict got his hands on any....

2011-09-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

We are proud of our brilliant director Andrea Arnold's new and brave film adaptation of Wuthering Heights which was revealed at the Venice film festival. Read the review from the telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/venice-film-festival/8744849/Film-adaptation-of-Wuthering-Heights-breaks-new-ground.html