Now Then Talks

In this conversation, we talk to Greg Hackett. Founder and director of the UK production company, Spindle. We discuss his obsession with story telling, why it’s important for directors to be vulnerable and the internal battles of running your own production company.

Greg’s award-winning work spans commercials, original documentaries, and brand films. His sharp eye and natural pace give his films a rare level of cinematic quality.

Discussed work:

Experiments In Speed: https://vimeo.com/70921986

TAM TAM: https://vimeo.com/305827033

Find the rest of Greg's work here: https://www.spindle.co/directors/greg-hackett/

In the conversation we talk to Flo Clive, head of production at Havas studios. We discuss how she finds new talent, email introductions, her transition from production to agency and the ever changing landscape of advertising.

In this conversation we talk to writer/director Koby Adom. We discuss the power of short films, how he came to direct episodes of British crime drama series Top Boy. And his new venture in to the commercial landscape.

Koby Adom is a Ghanaian-British film director, writer & executive producer who was born in Ivory Coast but raised in South London from childhood. He is also the CEO and founder of DBK Studios.

Graduating with a Masters Degree from the London Film School in 2017, Koby went on to write and direct his breakthrough short film: Haircut (https://vimeo.com/281079824) the following year, finishing the film in May 2018. Haircut screened at the London Film Festival and a few places, racked up 900,000 views online and earned Koby a spot on the 2018 Screen Daily Stars of Tomorrow list as well as the Broadcast Hotshot list for 2019. By November 2018, Koby was in Cape Town preparing to shoot three episodes of BBC 1 drama Noughts and Crosses at the age of 28.

Between September 2020 till now, Koby has directed two episodes of Top Boy Season 4 for Netflix, the entire 4-part season 2 of Noughts and Crosses for BBC 1 as well as Executive producing 5 short films from black filmmakers through DBK Studios, funded by Sky Studios, airing on Sky Arts.

Find the rest of Koby's work here -https://www.kobyadom.com/

In this conversation we talk to music video commissioner Kim Jarrett. We discuss her process of finding new talent, the importance of originality and the benefits of consuming things you hate.

In this conversation we speak to director and photographer Libby Burke Wilde. We discuss her fears of becoming a mother, being pigeon-holed as a director and pursuing a career in narrative film making.

In this conversation with Director Dumas Haddad, we discuss the value of making your own work, developing your own material and discrimination within the industry.

In this conversation, we discuss the impact of social media, reinventing your image and being a signed director.

In this conversation, we discuss the advantages of being an independent director, the importance of structure and the constant battle of staying relevant.

In this conversation we discuss how director and photographer Molly Burdett transitioned from music videos into commercials, the harsh realities of the pitching process and her fears as a director.