Daniel Day Lewis just can't get enough of Film Annex's BuzzScore. Well... we can't blame him!
Charles Pieper visited our studio today! And yes, the exclamation point there is totally heartfelt. Pieper has been a Film Annexer since the early days of our platform, and I feel like I've known him for years (virtually). But today was the day I got to officially meet him. A filmmaker and an animator, Pieper lives and works in Los Angeles these days. A stop motion video he recently animated is being shown at Luxembourg & Dayan, an art gallery in NYC tonight, and he'll be there! The show runs till December 22nd, so if you're in town, make sure you stop by!
Just as I expected, Pieper had great energy, and it was super fun to interview him. We talked about Pieper's love for monsters, his work, life in LA, presence on Film Annex, sharing on social media, and of course online film distribution. It was exciting to hear how much he knew about the way Film Annex works and how he benefits from our platform. It made me think that we're doing something right! The video of the interview will be online next week. So hold on to your socks.
Earlier this week, I connected with two filmmakers, Abteen Bagheri and Jamie Travis. I've been following Travis' work for awhile and have been a fan of his Saddest Children in the World trilogy. Travis is so great at creating mood. Every detail in his films, from the choice of furniture to the combination of colors, evokes an emotion in me (and it will evoke one in you too). Bagheri is a young film and music video director. His work includes some of the most original videos I laid eyes on lately. I hope to have both filmmakers on Film Annex soon as I think more audiences should see their work.
I also re-connected with Gayle Lemmon, the New York Times best-selling author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and the deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program. Lemmon recently penned a Fast Company article called In The Heart Of Afghanistan, Entrepreneurs Innovate For Peace, featuring Roya Mahboob, our partner in Afghan Development Initiative. I had reached out to Lemmon in October to introduce our initiative and invite her to our studio for an interview. However, since she is not in NYC, I emailed her my questions. I believe having Lemmon's perspective and opinion will add a lot to this project. I especially found her TED talk extremely inspiring.
I spent my Thursday at American Illustration - American Photography's Big Talk and the Motion Arts Awards. You can read all about it and everything related to it here.
I also worked with our designer on a new page for Eren's Picks so now it's officially official! The video is also on there. If you're a filmmaker reading this and want your film to get more recognition, feel free to contact me and be like, "Hey! I make amazing films. How come they're not on Eren's Picks?" And we'll talk.
And in case you haven't read your Film Annex Newsletter yet, we are having a video challenge for our new technology platform, Examer. By creating a short video, you can make a difference in an Afghan student's life, and she can make a difference in yours. Read on to find more about our contest.
Till next week,
