Laurent Barthelemy Merges Into Interstate

Interstate, the new award-winning directors’ group founded by executive producer Danny Rosenbloom and director Yann Mabille, is pleased to welcome Laurent Barthelemy as a Partner/Director, where he will be represented exclusively for the US market. In the director’s chair, Barthelemy will leverage his performing arts roots to craft visually-driven emotional narratives for a range of projects. He will also provide creative support to Interstate’s roster of directors. 

“Laurent brings a curatorial eye to what we do,” says Rosenbloom, who first met Barthelemy while working together at Psyop. “From stage plays to big-budget VFX campaigns, he has done just about everything as a director, which meshes well with what we’re all about as a company. Each director at Interstate not only has unique, complementary skills to serve the greater vision of the group, but they also understand the creative process, top to bottom.” 

“Laurent is a truly versatile artist, and one of the few who can create emotion through many different storytelling mediums,” adds Mabille. “His curiosity leads him to try new things and to take risks in his work. He brings a deeply creative mind to the team.” 

Barthelemy is perhaps best known for his work at Psyop, where he established a reputation for his technical ingenuity and emotional insight as a CG Artist/Designer. There, he worked on the AICP Award-winning HD spot “Crow” for MTV, as well as the Clio and Cannes Lion Award-winning spot “Human Chain” for Nike. He later went on to direct projects for Michelin, British Gas, American Express, Showtime, and TED. As an independent director, he has helmed commercials for Google and Xerox, as well as the “Heather” documentary via production company Smuggler.

 

In his new role at Interstate, Barthelemy is most excited about returning to his performing arts roots, which notably began during university in France.

“People primarily know me as a visual director and animator,” says Barthelemy, “but I’m working with actors a lot more these days, looking to blend beautiful performances in poetic ways. Interstate will give me the platform and communal support to merge all of my passions.” 

Barthelemy is currently in postproduction on his short film “Campers,” starring 2015 Cannes Film Festival sensation Rod Paradot and produced by Paris-based production company Hellostranger. He wrote, directed and shot the 15-minute supernatural story, which is slated for a January 2016 release and is currently being reworked as a feature-length film. 

Interstate is represented on the East Coast by Kelly Salmon of Hunt & Gather.