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Frankie & Johnny sign to Knucklehead
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Knucklehead announce the signing of Frankie & Johnny for commercial projects worldwide.
Knucklehead announce the signing of Frankie & Johnny for commercial projects worldwide.
Frankie & Johnny is husband-and-wife team SF “Frankie” Hartley and Johnny Green, who have been collaborating together for the last 10 years, following two very successful careers in different yet overlapping worlds.
As a filmmaker, Green is known for his groundbreaking visual style, meticulous craft, tireless work ethic and sensitive connection with talent. His projects for clients including Mercedes, Hennessy, Nike, Adidas, EA Sports and Honda have earned Lions, Pencils, and Clios, but more than anything Green's passion is simply creating films with emotional resonance. His return to Knucklehead is fitting, given this is where he started his commercials career, and where he made some of his most iconic, award-winning work. Green's very first ad, Audi Satellite, earned him Best Director at the British Arrows.
Enthralled by performance, story and stage craft, Green studied theatre design and earned a Masters at the Slade School of Art before launching into his early career as a Production Designer, collaborating with leading directors including his hero, Frank Budgen.
An article in The Guardian about a Mongolian wolf hunter and captain of the Ulaanbaatar ice speedway club, compelled Green to launch his directing career, creating the sublime and haunting documentary short Nyemka’s Dream, shot over two years of trips to the frozen landscapes of Siberia and Northern Sweden. The striking originality of his vision launched him straight to the top of what become his second career as one of the industry’s most influential commercial directors.
Born in New Orleans and raised in Upstate South Carolina, Hartley's childhood in the American South cultivated her hungry curiosity and obsession with the intersection of people and place. After more than a decade creative producing for global agencies, brands and publications in New York, Los Angeles and London (including Droga5, BBH LA, Puma, Google, Hennessy and British Vogue), Hartley grew compelled to pursue narrative film while volunteering at the Hackney Migrant Centre in London during the height of the migrant crisis.
In 2019 she launched her deep-dive into storytelling at the renowned American Film Institute Conservatory’s MFA producing program in Los Angeles, where she brought female-driven stories to life and supported Ari Aster’s production company, Square Peg, in their first look television deal with A24. As a filmmaker Hartley brings together sophisticated narrative and visual sensibility, with a strong understanding of what it takes to make effective branded work.
As a duo, Frankie & Johnny are dedicated to telling visually indelible, human stories.
Knucklehead’s Tim Katz said: “Johnny began his Directing career at Knucklehead and arguably did some of his very best work with us. He had quite the journey around the industry over the years, but we are genuinely delighted that he and SF have come back to us as Frankie & Johnny. The work that went before was special; the work that will come now will be even more so. It’s really exciting...”.
Frankie & Johnny adds: “We are honoured to launch our formal directing collaboration, Frankie & Johnny, with the Knucklehead family. A brilliantly creative, supportive and natural home.”
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