TORONTO commercial production house, Imported Artists Film Company, has struck a deal with New York-based Propaganda Films and the Propaganda Group of Companies to exclusively represent its extensive roster of directorial talent in Canada. Propaganda’s group of companies includes Propaganda Films, Satellite, Extension Films and Propaganda Independent.

Imported Artists’ president Christina Ford and Marni Luftspring, in IA sales and marketing, now represent such big-time helmers as Simon West, Spike Jonze, Geoffrey Barish, Dante Ariola, Kuntz & Maguire, Jason Harrington, Andy Morahan and several others.

Propaganda Films VP Colin Hickson says IA understands Propaganda’s mandate and feels the two production houses will work well together.

‘Propaganda is continually reinventing itself, as any company that is responsive to the market place needs to do,’ says Hickson. ‘There was an understanding with Imported Artists about what we wanted to achieve. We shared a common identity to the work that we like, and a shared understanding of where Propaganda and the Propaganda Group of Companies needed to go.’

As a production company with a strong global presence, Propaganda is very conscious of its profile in Canada and every other market that can be reached, Hickson says.

‘Our approach is a double-sided one to offer agencies, wherever they may be, the best talent they could possibly get and offer to our directing talent the best representation they can get in the widest form.’

Hickson says commercial houses that do not pursue this line of thinking may be in danger as the business continues to globalize itself.

‘There are very talented creatives at agencies all around the world and the idea of pairing those two up is what is important to us,’ he says. ‘Whether the job comes from Canada or Istanbul, that is our approach. If you go to something like the Cannes Advertising Festival you can see great work coming from all around the world, and to not make yourself open and available to that is a mistake.’

Propaganda Films has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and London.

-www.importedartists.com

-www.propagandafilms.com

Billy Dunlop takes a walk over to Blackwalk

DIRECTOR Billy Dunlop has made the move from Toronto-based Proteus, a company he helped establish, to Toronto’s Blackwalk Productions. Dunlop, 24, hopes this move to Blackwalk will help him get back into directing music videos and, eventually, commercials.

‘When I got into this I just wanted to direct, and it seemed like I couldn’t do that any more,’ he says. ‘At Proteus, there were just so many other things I was supposed to do, and I was kind of losing track of wanting to direct.’

Dunlop says he hopes to model a career in the mold of Michael Bay and David Fincher, who both started as music video directors, moved into commercials, and then into feature film direction.

‘I figured that was the most logical way to do it, especially in Canada with the VideoFACT program,’ he says. ‘It gives an opportunity for directors to actually shoot things on film.

‘What attracted me to Blackwalk,’ he continues, ‘was [the company’s] immediate interest when I first contacted them.’