Directors Shomi Patwary, RECX Make the Naked City Scene
Director Shomi Patwary, perhaps best known for his music videos for stars like A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, and Wu-Tang Clan, has joined the roster at Naked City Films here for U.S. representation.
A Bengali-American, Patwary has recently directed commercials for UPS and Hanes out of The Martin Agency, as well as for the New York Knicks, Carhartt, Ray-Ban, and Meta. His work is docu-style with an urban feel and a fresh, modern approach to both camera work and editing style. You can see his work here.
“I started out making DIY music videos, where every frame relied on style and emotion,” explained Patwary. “Moving into commercial filmmaking helped me sharpen my skills and work on a bigger scale. Now, joining Naked City Films, I feel like I’m part of a team that shares my passion for strong vision and the craft of bringing cinematic ideas to life.”
Patwary will continue to maintain his own company, Illusive Media, for music video projects, the most recent one being ”Pop It Off” for Tyga and Lil Wayne.
According to Naked City co-founder Dave Schmidt, he has been following Patwary’s work for a few years. “Shomi has always been pushing the limits in production. From his TV series work with Desus & Mero to his ever-growing catalogue of iconic music videos. Shomi is on the verge of bigger things and I’m really proud to have him as a collaborator at Naked City.”
Also new to the Naked City roster is RECX, a directing team comprised of cinematographers Erin Collett and Yurek Akbar. The work is driven by the latest in camera tech married with AI-driven post. You can see their work here.
Naked City has worked with Collett and Akbar for many years as cinematographers. The new partnership fits in nicely alongside the existing events work Naked City has been doing for clients like Barclay’s Bank, according to Schmidt. “This scene is blowing up on socials, and we are really excited to see what RECX creates next, especially in the area of what’s possible in AI-driven post production,” he said.
In addition to new directors Naked City has added three New York photographers to its talent lineup: Paul Barbera, who uses a reportage lens to capture people and places; Jonah Markowitz, a frequent photographer for the New York Times who focuses on visualizing how class and race intersect; and Jeff Harris, a specialist in still life and portrait photography. – to its roster.
The new signings come on the heels of a total website redesign for the production company. To round out its national sales representation, Naked City has recently signed Dave Campbell and Rogue Reps to handle the West Coast. Marguerite Juliasson remains the Midwest rep, Ann Asprodites has the Southwest covered, and Mary Knox, Shauna Seresin, and Victoria Venantini of Minerva handle the Northeast.
