IMMIGRANT Is Opening in London, with Miles Nathan Joining as MD for the UK and Benelux
Production company, IMMIGRANT, is opening its doors in London this month. Launched last year in the unlikely combination of Copenhagen and Sao Paulo the company has always had an ethos of bringing new voices into the conversation.
Reflecting on the reason to step into the UK market, MD and co-founder Phie Hansen explains ‘We’ve had a pretty solid run since we started last year. Done work with people we admire. Fun work. BIG work. Small work we’re super proud of. But fundamentally the reason we started Immigrant is that we want to make damned good work. Which means damned good scripts. And there’s just no denying that London is somewhat of an epicentre for that. So we figured we’d jump in with both feet, rather than loiter on the pool side.”
Leading the charge for this new step is London native, Miles Nathan, who is joining IMMIGRANT as managing director and executive producer for the UK and Amsterdam. He brings a wealth of experience both as an agency producer, having worked with agencies like AMV, BBH, WK and Saatchi and Saatchi, and as one of the co-owners of production company Spindle. His work has garnered awards at Cannes, British Arrows, Ciclope, UKMVA and D&AD, and he is widely respected as a nurturer of emerging talent having previously introduced directors such as Molly Burdett, Daniel Lundh and Loyle Carner to the UK market.
Speaking about Miles and his new role, Rodrigo Saavedra (director and founding partner of IMMIGRANT) says, ‘Really what we stand for, as a production company, comes down to who we are. So while we’ve been playing with the idea of opening in London for a while, it wasn’t until we met Miles that it clicked. He’s a fellow entrepreneur of course, but, more importantly, he has a fundamental interest in supporting directors and producers in their development and careers. And he’s clearly driven by a desire to create good work - which is the only way you make good work. His credentials of course aren’t to be sniffed at, and he has some truly stellar work to his name. So we’re frankly very excited to work with him to build Immigrant going forward.”
Miles, MD of London, said of starting up in the UK ‘It’s been an incredible whirlwind meeting Phie and Rodrigo. A whirlwind I am so happy to be swept up in! Immigrant is a unique proposition - a hub of directors from all over the world that can help steer and shape modern advertising and music to shift the needle to something original and new.
Representing directors in Scandinavia, Brazil, Benelux, and now the UK, IMMIGRANT have created global campaigns for Samsung, Nike and Absolut as well as films for local brands - working with agencies such as AKQA, Saatchi, Forsman&Bodenfors, Publicis & BBH.
Speaking to the relevance of IMMIGRANT in London, Phie adds, “Of course we’ve always had a desire to throw some new names in the hat. It’s in the name.… And we have some amazing talent on the roster - with global and award winning work, some of which will be familiar to the London agencies. That being said, we are also looking to put down some roots in London and tap into the unbelievable talent here. That is, of course, where Miles comes in, as he seemingly has a director almanac tattooed on the inside of his eyelids.”
Currently Immigrant represents eight directors in the UK, among them is one of the founding partner’s of the company, Rodrigo Saavedra. But there are more names coming in the near future, both international and home-grown. And as the IMMIGRANT strap line says. ‘They’re here to take your jobs’.
