DISCO, the talent management company based in Cape Town, now offers agencies and brands full production support and a roster of commercial directors. Anton du Preez is one of the first directors to sign with the company and brings a truly unique take and visual language to commercial directing. Let’s dance!

‘We signed him because we always wished we did the work he was doing, now we will.’

DISCO has built a reputation for bringing an impeccable aesthetic and sense of style to everything they touch. Founded by Executive Producer Candice Hatting (who also owns My Friend Ned and DISCO Casting), DISCO represents a pool of like-minded creatives with fresh perspectives in the commercial industry including Stylists, Creative Directors, Cinematographers, Photographers, Hair and Make-up Artists and now Directors. The all-women team strongly believes in creative collaboration with exceptional talent to produce work the world hasn’t seen on repeat. “Launching as a production company has been a natural progression for us,” Candice says, “We began producing for Creative Directors Jana and Koos and from there began collaborating with VMLY&R, first on some small productions, and then the relationship and scale of work grew really quickly from there.” Since expanding their offering to production, the team at DISCO have followed up their Bronze Bookmark for casting, with a Bronze Lion at Cannes. A winning start!

DISCO & Anton du Preez

Director Anton du Preez has worked with Nike on 11 projects to date and collaborated with brands adidas, Beats, Everybody.world, Hugo Boss, Mr. Porter, Fjällräven, Specialized, Soundcloud and Louis Vuitton. He moved from Cape Town to the States in 2008 to study film. Out of film school he got a job working for American Apparel where he launched an in-house film department documenting the company’s factory workers. At the start of 2019 his producing partner brought him on to shoot a project for Nike ACG, which at the time was changing its entire creative direction. “I went to Oregon to film Scot Violete, a Bigfoot hunter. It was one of the most memorable shoots and a big turning point in my career,” he says. Off the success of that film began a 4-year creative collaboration with Nike. Anton adds: “During this time I got to work with so many talented creatives who helped me shape a very unique visual style and I had the freedom to write scripts that had a lot of my personal humor in them.” Anton’s relationship with DISCO began with them servicing a job for him in Cape Town. When he decided to stay in South Africa (travelling back and forth to LA when needed), DISCO and Anton made it official.

“When you admire someone’s work so much that you wish you made it, that’s when you collaborate with them,” Candice says, “I’ve always loved Anton’s style and have such an appreciation for the aesthetic he brings. We signed him because we always wished we did the work he was doing, now we will.”

ANTON DID THAT

Anton has a distinct docu-comedy approach to filmmaking with an elevated visual style and an original sense of humour. “Anton breaks through the mould of traditional commercial work with a rare way of seeing,” DISCO Creative Producer, Holli Bennett says. “His ability as a performance director stems from his fascination with the human condition, and you have to be obsessed with the human condition in order to direct like this…”

For directors, DISCO is available to service local and international jobs in a non-exclusive relationship; an innovative move that responds to the growing needs of freelance talent for full production support with the freedom to make their best work wherever it’s briefed from.

Wanna (s)talk some more? DISCO on IDIDTHAT and Company Website.