ELEANOR Expands Roster with Stoichemaan, Sam Coleman
ELEANOR, the global creative company, has announced U.S. representation of the director-cinematographer studio Stoichemaan as well as award-winning director Sam Coleman.
Recently recognized at Ciclope for their award-winning film “Everyone Loves Muscles,” Stoichemaan (a.k.a. STChM) has become known for work that combines conceptual discipline with distinctive visual identity. The studio’s practice is grounded in experimentation, where cinematic design and philosophical structure meet to form a clear but unconventional approach to storytelling.
Their latest project, “Bon Bon,” a short film depicting a fictional 1970s car traveling through twenty-five different narrative settings, demonstrates the studio’s commitment to efficiency and exploration. Conceived, designed, and executed in just two days, the project extends their interest in how emerging tools can expand the creative process.
“We essentially just use AI as a film camera,” says STChM. “Once you understand how to prompt, you get results quickly and can make and make and build up footage. Once you’ve created the clips, you step into the film as filmmakers. You craft and craft with your filmmaker brain, experience, and taste, knowing what to keep in and take out.” The duo offers expert eyes, their combined experience spans 40 years in film.
STChM’s work ranges from the surreal lyricism of “Everyone Loves Muscles” to the graphic clarity of “Splitcuits” and “The Pointy Nose Chronicles.” Each film reflects a consistent pursuit of cinematic form that is both structured and intuitive — where the absurd and the precise coexist.
“We’re in a moment of creative transformation, and that’s when the world needs daring voices,” says Sophie Gold, President of ELEANOR. “STChM is very exciting, technically brilliant, narratively subversive, and unafraid to blend human intuition with machine invention.”
For STChM, joining the company represents a shared belief in experimentation as a form of precision. “ELEANOR provides a framework that values process as much as outcome,” they state. “This partnership allows us to extend our research into narrative, image, and structure with greater freedom.”
In other company news, recently-added director Sam Coleman says he aims to find the human, intimate moments that feel disarmingly real even amid visual spectacle.
“At the end of the day, my job is finding the best in a script and elevating it to be the absolute best it can be,” says Coleman. “Never letting a single second slip, every moment within a script becomes a doorway of possibility.”
Coleman's work on Allen Grey’s "Everything Comes Around" captures how patience, dedication, and artistry always find their reward. Under his eye, light and shadow, silence and sound, ebb and flow in perfect harmony — a visual symphony that transcends the sum of its parts.
His film "Khuphuka Nathi" for Spotify Africa captures that same emotional purity. Rooted in Zulu identity and the power of music to connect generations, it’s a stirring ode to cultural pride and modern youth. “For Spotify, you might expect something sleek and stylized,” Coleman says. “But this story let me lean into a more narrative, emotional space, where I feel most at home creatively.” Shot across Durban and KwaZulu-Natal with nimble, handheld cameras, the piece balances intimacy and scale in equal measure.
As Spotify’s Head of Marketing, Sithabile Kachisa, described, the film is “a love letter to Zulu-speaking listeners… about celebrating the pride, identity, and spirit of being Zulu.” Through projects like this, Coleman continues to champion the rise of Pan-African youth culture on the global stage, a movement he calls “undiscovered, hungry, and absolutely tireless.”
Before his acclaimed career as a director, Coleman’s eye was shaped by years as an esteemed creative director. From amplifying South African street culture to leading the Adidas Originals account at 180 Amsterdam and later joining Mother New York across Stella Artois and Tanqueray, his background in creative direction and fashion sharpened his instincts and refined his taste. His storytelling has captured the attention of the industry’s most respected juries — including Cannes Lions, Clios, Ciclope, and D&AD.
“It’s the micro moments that make Sam’s craft amazing,” says Gold. “He crafts the hell out of every second. Nothing is missed.”
“ELEANOR’s got a very refreshing voice,” adds Coleman. “It feels relevant, it feels disruptive. For me, signing with ELEANOR is like stepping into the right bar.”
