Chelsea and England football star Raheem Sterling has teamed up with award-winning music video director Carly Cussen to kick-start a new creative agency, Playmaker Films. 
The production house, which has already released a ‘Back to School’ campaign with Clarks, will have a core approach of ‘entertainment first’, inspired by Cussen’s and Sterling’s work.
Playmaker Films will specialise in producing branded content, advertising and music video, with an aim to deliver world-renowned entertainment to brands and consumers.
Sterling and Cussen have previously worked together to create entertaining and quality video products for brands.
Cussen has over 15 years of experience in the industry, directing videos for some of music’s biggest names including Ed Sheeran, Keke Palmer, Little Mix and Lil’ Baby, as well as working with household names such as Disney, Pretty Little Things and Samsung.
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Sterling has also begun to establish himself outside football, working with fashion brands such as New Balance, Bottega Veneta and Burberry, and was recently awarded an MBE in 2021 for his service to racial equality, following his successful Raheem Sterling Foundation initiative.
“I’d worked with Carly on a number of projects, for brands like Samsung and Gillette, and I started to ask her questions about different aspects of the process. When it came to starting my own production company, she was the obvious choice, ” said Sterling
“We’ve got some great projects lined up, with some amazing brands and talent, including Clarks ‘Back To School’ campaign which was a lot of fun to create and shoot. I can’t wait for the world to see what we’ve got up our sleeves,” he added.
Cussen commented: “Playmaker Films is a truly collaborative endeavour between myself and Raheem, as well as the amazing people that perhaps don’t get a mention in the headlines.
“There’s a real buzz about the place, what we are trying to do and we have some exciting projects in the pipeline. I can’t wait to kick off.”
The new agency will be fronted by Royston Reeves, former Head of Strategy at JOE Media, and Kem Ekundayo – an international producer with a background working with notable influencers and musicians such as Anne-Marie and KSI.
