Daniele Anastasion joins Knucklehead USA
After cutting her teeth writing and producing long-form documentary television, it wasn’t long before Anastasion focused her sights on full-time directing.
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Production company Knucklehead welcome writer and director Daniele Anastasion to their U.S. roster.
From her powerful long and short form films to her branded and commercial projects, it’s undeniable that the soul of her work stems from her beginnings as a documentarian. After cutting her teeth writing and producing long-form documentary television, it wasn’t long before Anastasion focused her sights on full-time directing.
Since then, her films have premiered at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, have been released as a New York Times Op-Doc and received several Vimeo Staff Picks. With a focus on tight emotional storytelling, her inspiration lies in real people and translating those stories into powerful and resonant arcs. Her craft lies in creating a container for people’s souls to come through.
That perspective as a filmmaker has earned her an impressive list of accolades both in the festival circuit and the trades. Her short film I Am Yup’ik, about a native-Alaskan teenager's search for identity, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Her first feature documentary, The Redemption of General Butt Naked, received the Sundance award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. She directed the short series Run Mama Run for ESPN Films, which follows an elite runner training to make the U.S. Olympic team while pregnant. The series explores cultural anxieties around motherhood and female ambition and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Her commercial work for brands like Nike, Google, UPS and Saucony blends documentary and fiction filmmaking to powerful effect.
“We just think she’s brilliant. Her work is so captivating and she’s an absolute delight to boot so she just had to be a Knucklehead. Watch her work and it's apparent immediately. We’re looking forward to great things with Daniele” says Tim Katz, one of Knucklehead’s Managing Partners.
Anastasion is currently writing her first narrative feature.
