NEW-LAND - Key Persons
Alexander Abdallah is an actor and director from Uppsala, Sweden. After graduating from Teaterhögskolan Malmö, he took on a number of roles in productions at Helsingborgs Stadsteater before making his first debut short ‘Jag Skiner Inte Utan Er Mina Bröder' (I Can't Shine Without You, My Brothers), portraying the anguish and grief-stricken aftermath of the 2009/10 Malmö shootings. The film premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival 2019 to great acclaim, winning awards including Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Music and the Audience Prize at that year's Pixel Scania Film Festival.
Amara Abbas is an American-Pakistani director who spent the bulk of her career as an in-house Art Director at Apple, crafting award-winning campaigns and films for iPhone, iOS, and iPad.
In 2021, Amara released her debut short film, TWIN FLAME, which explored the visceral memories of a past flame that burned out as quickly as it was ignited. A few months later, Amara signed with new-land as a director for representation.
Alongside commercial and music video projects, she is currently working on her second short, UKHT, an experimental narrative exploring the cultural and religious identities of two Muslim-American women. Intent on discovering new ways to move people, Amara weaves empathetic, human-driven narratives and visually arresting imagery to provoke, empower, and innovate.
In 2022, Amara was awarded the Young Guns 20 Award by The One Club which recognises the vanguard of international creative professionals 30 years of age and under.
Caroline Koning is a Dutch director with a wealth of experience in both the world of fashion and the crafts of directing and filmmaking. After graduating from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Caroline broke out with a striking film for the lingerie brand Love Stories, which went on to feature on Nowness and as a Vimeo Staff Pick, firmly securing her the title of "director to watch". Since her trailblazing start, Caroline has established an impressive portfolio of films for fashion and luxury brands including Loewe, Scotch & Soda, Wrangler, and Lynk & Co.
A completely self-taught director, Caroline's work matches a sense of natural curiosity with a poetic, honest-yet-stylised tone. Recent clients include i-D, Etsy, Audika and Nike, with her 2021 film for the latter, 'New Girl', winning at a range of awards including D&AD, the Webby Awards and the ONE Show.
Indra Herö Wide is a director with a natural ability to transform creative ideas into beautiful, powerful messages. Her work is characterised by a sense of playfulness, an eye for cast, and a strong visual style. With experience both behind and in front of the camera, Indra's visual expression merges striking visuals with a fresh, dynamic tone, having worked with clients such as Nike, Adidas, H&M, Coca-Cola, Klarna, Veet, MINI Fashion, Cheap Monday and Peak Performance.
Joanna Nordahl is a Swedish-Brazilian award-winning film director and visual artist with a passion for telling intimate, authentic, and empowering stories framed by innovative ideas and world-class craftsmanship. Her music videos, short films, documentaries, concert visuals, and commercials have garnered a multitude of awards over the years, including DJ Mag's "Best of British" award in 2020 for her music video for Four Tet's 'Baby', and a Swedish Grammy for her collaboration with Say Lou Lou on 'Nothing But A Heartbeat'.
Joanna has also won the Swedish Golden Egg Award's Film of the Year twice. First for her film 'Dear Condom' in 2019, and then again for 'Pink Ribbon' in 2020. The latter film led to Cancerfonden breaking its own fundraising record, collecting more than 9million for cancer research that year alone.
Joanna's recent clients have included WhatsApp, Virgin Media, Adidas, eBay and Toyota.
Maceo Frost is an award winning film director based in Stockholm, Sweden. Named after James Brown's funky saxophone player, Maceo was raised by his street-dance-legend father and skateboard-rebel mother. Underground culture is practically embedded in his DNA. He plays piano and drums and believes rhythm is the secret to everything. Today he travels the world directing films and loves making people share their deepest secrets with the camera.
He has premiered films at SXSW and Sheffield and recently won a Gold Clio for his documentary about the African giant, Burna Boy. He has also won the Swedish Roy Awards for best Music Video for "I've Understood" with artist Robin Nazari.
Marcus Ibanez is an award-winning director with a background in stills photography and a graphic design degree from Berghs School of Communication.
After graduating in 2016, Marcus was eager to learn more about film and got in contact with new-land, who quickly realised his potential and started him off as a Director's Assistant and 2nd Unit Director.
Nadia Marquard Otzen kickstarted her career with 'Black Summer', a "film album" for The Pony Tales drawing viewers into a world of love, lust and jealousy among a group of teenagers lost in the solitude and isolation of the Faroe Islands. The film opened the prestigious CPH:DOX festival to much acclaim, and established Nadia as a filmmaker with a passion for marrying narrative with music, leading naturally to a move into music videos for artists such as Years and Years, Emily Sande and The 1975.
A graduate of Central St. Martins who spent many years working alongside renowned commercials director Chris Palmer, Nadia's striking visuals and bold concepts quickly earned her a variety of awards and nominations including Best New Director at the UK MVAs and a Grammy for best video.
Nadia's commercials for clients including VELUX, Ikea, Levi's, Pandora, Danish Railways and Zalando have continued to build on her passion for people, places and stories, with Nadia developing a signature combination of the stark realism of authentic casting and captured moments, alongside striking looks and expertly-chosen soundtracks.
Swedish director Natanael Ericsson began his journey to directing by making skateboard films and music videos with friends in his hometown of Piteå.
Niclas Larsson worked as an actor from the age of six until 2008, when he started assisting various commercial directors after unfinished film studies in Los Angeles.
In 2013, Niclas was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Gothenburg International Film Festival for his first short film, Vatten. Niclas went on to write and direct the short film series Magic Diner, where Alicia Vikander finds herself trapped with a napkin holder giving her answers to life's deepest questions. Magic Diner has since won numerous awards around the world, as well as going viral, gaining millions of views online.
Niclas's fourth short film, Our Broken Heart, was screened in Cannes and Los Angeles, and was awarded an audience award at the New York Short Fest. His commercial work includes clients such as Volvo, Samsung and WhatsApp.
During 2022 Niclas began to film his first feature film.
Nina Holmgren is a Danish award-winning filmmaker. Her unique background in fine art and as a former champion athlete, comes through effortlessly as she's never afraid of mixing art forms or pushing boundaries by using all of the filmmaking tools at her disposal. Her work is contemporary, and she has a remarkable eye combining storytelling and aesthetic expression creating her own heightened surreality.
Job Titles:
- Production Assistant & PR
Job Titles:
- Executive Producer
- Head of Production
The Swedish director Sheila Johansson began her career as an Art Director after graduating from Beckmans College of Design, one of Scandinavia's leading creative schools. She was then recruited by the New York offices of world-renowned ad agency McCann, where she worked on campaigns for international brands such as IKEA and Chevrolet. Her work at McCann was recognised by Cresta, One Show and ADC among others.
After two years as an Art Director, Sheila decided to explore her passion for film, and shortly thereafter started work as a director at new-land.
She was the first woman to win both Best Director and Best New Director at the Swedish Roy Awards, and has also been recognised in repeat years by the Swedish Association of Communication Agencies.
Her most recent work includes clients such as Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Bumble, the Swedish telecommunications company Telia and the UK musician NAO.
Tore Frandsen has had a passion for film and filmmaking since he was very young. A graduate of both the Danish School of Advertising and the Copenhagen Film and Photo School, Tore's ability to work within multiple styles and genres led to him being shortlisted for a Creative Gold Award for Young Talents.
Tore's celebrated versatility behind the camera has helped him create a highly-regarded body of work, including runaway viral hits and award circuit favourites alike, all unified by Tore's affection for tight concepts and clever design. His highly cinematic style has helped create campaigns for such high profile clients as Netflix, Toyota, Carlsberg, HBO, LEGO, and Coca-Cola.
Tore has continued to push himself to new creative heights, experimenting in various styles and genres while maintaining a look and feel all of his own. His commercial for the Danish Road Safety Council, "Helmet Has Always Been A Good Idea", won a string of awards including Grand Prix at the 2021 Epica Awards, Cannes Lions, a Gold at the 2022 British Arrows and a Grand Prix at the 2022 Clios.
Job Titles:
- EP Assistant & Office Manager