Bicoastal Park Pictures adds Oscar®-nominated director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras, ASC to their roster. Kuras, an acclaimed filmmaker who frequently collaborates with Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), is already working on her first spot out of Park, a project for an undisclosed client out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland. Kuras has earned international acclaim as a director, most recently for her feature Nerakhoon (The Betrayal), which she directed and shot. The documentary earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary, an Independent Spirit Award nomination and opened the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The Betrayal tells the story of a Laotian refugee family and its heartrending journey, earning the film a New York premiere at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Kuras, who had spent 20 years making the film, gave a co-directorial credit to Thavisouk (“Thavi”) Phrasavath, a subject of the feature.
Kuras’ additional feature credits include collaborations with Spike Lee (Bamboozled) and Sam Mendes (Away We Go) to name a few. Kuras has won or been nominated for multiple Emmy®, Sundance and Independent Spirit Awards for Best Cinematography.
Says Park Pictures EP Jackie Kelman Bisbee, “Ellen has a remarkable eye and elevates every project she takes on. We’re very excited to help her build her commercial reel.”
Kuras concurs, “I’ve known Lance [Acord] for a long time, have admired his work and Park Pictures’ track record; and upon meeting Jackie, I immediately connected with Park.”
A New Jersey native, director/DP Ellen Kuras, ASC, is an unprecedented three-time recipient of the Sundance Film Festival’s Best Dramatic Cinematography Award. She has also recently received the prestigious Kodak Crystal Award, was one of the rare below-the-line recipients of the MUSE (NYWIF) Award and was given a Gotham Award in 2006 for leadership and work in cinematography.
About Park Pictures
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and renowned filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new filmmaking talent and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies and clients by engaging all members of its team in creative problem solving. Embracing new formats and longer form integrated projects, the company continues to gain momentum in the changing advertising arena. Park Pictures recently launched Playground, a recreational area on its website hosting innovative creative work outside of conventional TV broadcast.
The company’s feature film roots are evident in the work itself, thanks in part to the expertise of directors Acord (cinematographer, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, Where the Wild Things Are), Joaquin Baca-Asay (cinematographer, Roger Dodger, We Own the Night), Alison Maclean (director, The Tudors, Jesus’ Son, Crush.). Joachim Back was nominated for Best Live Action Short in the 2010 Academy Awards® for his film, “The New Tenants”. Additional directors on the roster include 300ml, The Glue Society, Lisa Rubisch, Chris Sargent, Jake Schreier, and Benzo Theodore.
A reciprocal relationship with Academy Films in London strengthens Park Pictures’ International presence. Park Pictures represent Jonathan Glazer, Frederic Planchon, Si&Ad, Seb Edwards, Tony Barry, Peter Cattaneo, Conkerco, Martin de Thurah, Kim Gehrig, Nick Gordon and Walter Stern in the US market. ###