Academy Films launches in the US

Multiple award winning production house Academy Films is opening an office in the US after nearly 40 famed years of developing director, photographer and artist talent, creating some of the most iconic work the industry has seen, collecting Cannes Lions, Yellow & Black Pencils, AICPs, Clios and British Arrows. 

Working with some of the biggest brands, most exciting artists and brightest creative minds in the world, Academy has been named production company of the year multiple times over.

The US arm of Academy will be led by John Nguyen as Managing Director/EP. Having started his career producing commercials, documentaries and branded content, he has worked on both creative agency and production company sides of the aisle. Most recently as Executive Producer at Hecho Studios, m ss ng p eces and RSA Films. Nguyen will be working alongside Medb Riordan and Simon Cooper, Global Managing Directors and co-owners, to navigate this exciting next phase in Academy’s already lauded history.

“It’s about time!” exclaimed Riordan. “Academy has spent so many years telling impeccable stories and breaking boundaries in filmmaking. We’ve never been limited to any specific creative output and we love that. The U.S. has been on our minds for so many years, and now with this roster of exciting, diverse and brilliant talent, and John Nguyen at the helm, we feel hungrier than ever to take on this new challenge and to work with some of the world’s greatest creative minds and brands in America.”

“Our relationship with the U.S. market has always been one-step removed, until now,” said Cooper. “We are immensely excited about the opportunity of working directly with U.S. agencies and brands and being able to bring Academy's passion and dedication to recognising and developing new talent to the U.S. market.”

Nguyen added: “Academy has such a rich history for producing genre defining work as well as identifying and developing strong storytellers that have impeccable taste. I’m excited and honored to collaborate with Medb, Simon and Jon as we bring forward the next generation of talent and chart the company’s next evolutionary phase in the U.S.”

Founded in 1985 by Lizie Gower, Academy’s guiding philosophy has always been to nurture and develop emerging young talent and this approach has led to their unrivaled reputation for launching stars of the future. Directors Jonathan Glazer, Kim Gehrig, Seb Edwards, Martin De Thurah, Frederic Planchon, Savanah Leaf, Nick Gordon and the directing duo Us all signed to Academy at the beginning of their careers. On top of developing emerging talent over the years, they have signed and worked with some of the biggest names in the industry including Ian Pons Jewell and Henry Schofield.

In 1999 Academy produced what is widely regarded as one of the best commercials ever made, Glazer’s Surfer for Guinness. The film won two D&AD Black Pencils and “Commercial of the Year” at almost every award show. The Times of London conducted a poll that voted Surfer as the most iconic ad of all time and the film continues to top ad polls inside and outside the industry.

“Opening Academy U.S. is arguably long overdue but how exciting to be here now,” said Glazer. “Building on Academy’s reputation in the UK, the new office translates that legacy into a U.S. based production hub where the creative opportunities remain as strong and exciting as ever. For our directing talent, this opens the doors for even more creative opportunities and sharing of ideas.”

As well as Glazer, Academy comes to the U.S. with a firmly established roster including the following:

Sophia Ray has worked with Nike, Google, the BBC and recently directed the highly lauded Sex X Cancer campaign for BBH London. From a music video background, she has also worked with international music artists such as Little Mix, Sigrid and Years & Years.

Jack Driscoll has worked on huge global campaigns for bet365, Gatorade and Lays, with major sports stars like Lionel Messi, David Beckham and Jayson Taytum. Jack has many awards to his name including Golds at The British Arrows and most recently 3 Clios for bet365.

Novemba is the extremely talented duo whose work crosses between high energy sports documentary to hard hitting, emotional story-telling, directing campaigns for Adidas, Amazon/Ad Council, Samsung and Uber. Their Frontline 19 Campaign, created with Adam&Eve DDB, won the agency their first D&AD Black Pencil. They are currently directing a huge TV doc series with Disney.