By Eleanor Dickinson
Dubai-based independent production house Baroque has acquired an Italian film company as it launches its own in-house film unit.
The creative production company has launched Baroque Film after buying Milan-based Dress Code Film as part of the UAE -based firm’s worldwide expansion.
Award-winning director and Dress Code Film founder Lorenzo Bassano has been appointed to oversee operations, based in Italy.
Directors already on Baroque Film’s roster include Cannes Lion-winning Ivan Vaccaro, Luigi Pane, Paris-based Pascal Dash, Luigi Dias, Italian commercials, fashion and music video director Serena Corvaglia, Greek auteur Vardis Marinakis and 23-year-old Paris-based Emma D’Hoeraene.
Argentinian director and cinematographer Dario Sabina and lead production designer Nieves Cabanes Pellicer will relocate to Dubai.
Baroque co-founder and CEO Ali Mansoor said: “Lorenzo and I go back a long way. From being on zero-budget film sets in Yemen to the best Hollywood studios, we cracked all we were interested in and delivered award-winning work. We always thought alike and mentored each other. “Now, as he takes on the leadership role at Baroque Film, Lorenzo will pass on his expertise and passion for film as well as his skills in interactive filmmaking for new media platforms to our roster of directors to ensure we create groundbreaking work with passion, love and care.”
Former business advisor and executive producer of film at MediaMonks in Dubai, Mansoor officially launched Baroque with creative director Bjarne O. Henriksen in March.
The company has expanded rapidly and now has an in-house team of more than 70 people and employees based across the world, from New York, Los Angeles and London, to Singapore, Barcelona and Buenos Aires.