London & Los Angeles-based creative company Object & Animal and Berlin-based creative label AKKURAT Studios have announced American director Amber Grace Johnson is joining AKKURAT for exclusive representation in Germany.
A pragmatic upshot of the two companies’ close working relationship, the announcement is made jointly by Object & Animal UK & US heads Dominic Thomas, Morgan Clement, James Cunningham and Justin Benoliel, and AKKURAT Studios heads Rocco Kopecny, Andreas Roth, and Dagmar Garber.
The news comes on the heels of Object & Animal and AKKURAT’s recent co-production of a global campaign for Hyundai with Stuttgart-based Jung von Matt NECKAR agency directed by Johnson, as well as music video projects.
“We see AKKURAT as a distinctly forward-thinking production company with a passion and respect for the craft of filmmaking,” says Morgan Clement, EP and Co-Founder of Object & Animal. “With a director like Amber who has achieved so much in such a short space of time, having her work with EPs and producers who share the same values and passions as Object & Animal, AKKURAT Studios felt like the perfect fit and we’re thrilled for how they develop her in the German market.”
Object & Animal Co-Founder Dominic Thomas adds, “Creatively, our companies possess similar approaches, ideals, perspectives, and ambitions. It didn’t take long to recognize that we complement one another.”
Known for her eye-catching work spanning commercial, editorial, and branded projects for clients like Prada, Dior Homme, Jorja Smith, J.Cole, Nike, and Rihanna’s Fenty, Amber Grace Johnson – also known as AGJ – has quickly become one of the hottest young talents of 2020.
This year alone, she has racked up a list of accolades including being named one of Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards’ 2020 Directors to Watch, receiving an AICP 2020 Best New Director nod, and becoming a four-time 2020 Young Director Awards nominee. Last year, she helmed one of her most awarded and recognizable works to date, a PSA with Wieden+Kennedy Portland for the launch of director Alma Har’el’s new venture FREE THE WORK.
Leading viewers on a 200-year journey urging people to take more notice at the often-overlooked female creative voices in the world, the film premiered at Cannes Lions and garnered national and international press coverage and attention from awarding bodies including the AICP, Shots Creative, 1.4, and YDA.
“I’m thrilled to now be on AKKURAT’s roster for the German market and look forward to creating many more projects together,” notes Amber Grace Johnson. “Having the trust and support from AKKURAT on this Hyundai production along with the feeling of family made me –– without question –– want to sign with them even more.”
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Partner and creative director Andreas Roth shares, “We’re really excited to have Amber join our roster for the German territory. We’ve always felt a deep creative connection with Object & Animal’s brand as well as our brand values and visions. In addition to being friends and colleagues we admire, they are collaborators we would like to grow along with for the future.”
“It was such a pleasure to partner with Object & Animal on this global campaign for Hyundai and have a director as talented, fresh, and bold as Amber shoot this project,” adds partner and managing director Rocco Kopecny. “Both our companies share a fond, mutual respect for one another and believe in the power of supporting each other and the talent. We look very forward to developing this relationship, collaborating on more work together, giving birth to impossible projects, and nurturing emerging talent into global directors.”
AGJ is the first and only director from the Object & Animal roster to sign with AKKURAT Studios solely for the German market. In addition, both studios are currently collaborating on a project for young Berlin filmmaker, Francisco Sendino, who has just completed Smirnoff work for 72&Sunny NYC.
Reel 360 wishes Amber the best of luck at AKKURAT.
SOURCE: CWPR
