The Sweet Shop signs top director duo Albiston and Sutherland for worldwide representation

TheSweet Shop has signed New Zealanders Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherlandfor commercial representation worldwide. The first directors to wintwice in the Short Film Section at Cannes, with ‘Run’ in 2007 and ‘TheSix Dollar Fifty Man’ in 2009, the latter has proved a worldwide cinemarevelation, scooping awards at the three most prestigious filmfestivals – Best International Short at Sundance (Utah) 2010, and bothSpecial Distinction and Generation at the 60th International FilmFestival (Berlin) 2010.  It is now eligible for nomination at the 2011Oscars, and has become the NZ Film Commission’s most successful shortfilm to date.

According to the pair: “After thesuccess of $6.50, we were approached by several internationalproduction houses, but we wanted to join a world class New Zealandteam.  That’s why we’re directing for The Sweet Shop.”

Recognised for their beautifully executed visuals and strong, graphicstyle, Mark and Louis’s narratives explore the depth of the humanspirit with an inspiring honesty.  Based on their many sharedexperiences over time, their work blends elements of the surreal with areality that is firmly rooted in tales of everyday people – seenespecially in their realist approach to casting and wry sense ofhumour.  Fifteen years spent honing their skills in production andperformance has yielded a strong common language between the two,breathing a candid authenticity into their films.

Says Paul Prince, CEO/managing partner of The Sweet Shop: “There’snothing quite like a story that resonates through your soul, like amemory from all your senses.  Mark & Louis’s did it for me.  I’mproud that they’ve joined The Sweet Shop and we’ll get a chance tosupport their work in the global communications space”.

Friends since primary school, Mark learned much of his visual craftstudying Fine Arts at Canterbury University, a perfect compliment toLouis’s grasp of performance having attended Toi Whakari NZ DramaSchool.  In 2000 Mark founded Sticky Pictures, where he has wonnumerous awards for arts-based magazine shows, documentaries and musicvideos.  The team joined forces that year to develop scripts for film,and have been collaborating successfully ever since.

Stephen Dickstein, global president/ managing partner of The Sweet Shopadds: “Between the interest that they’ve already generated inHollywood, and the opportunity that lies before them in the commercialsbusiness, this highly touted young directing team have quite the futureahead of them.  We’re fortunate to be in the position to help provide acareer platform from which they can work.  Watch this space…”

While the New Zealand Film Commission are currently supporting Mark& Louis in the development of their feature screenplay, ‘Shopping’,the future also looks bright for their upcoming TVCs with The SweetShop (NZ Production Company of The Year 2010).