In covering Daniel Russ’ recent move from his post as senior VP/group creative director at GSD&M, Austin, Texas, to executive creative director at R&R Partners, overseeing the work of that agency’s five shops in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Reno and Washington, D.C., SHOOT noted that he would remain very much involved in the Peace Council, a nearly 10-year-old nonprofit foundation dedicated to creating advertising that helps to raise awareness for issues of social consequence.
And while the reference to the Peace Council was an incidental part of our news story on Russ last month, we now make it the focus of this column as that organization, known for its public service spots, diversifies into short and feature-length films. The other new wrinkle is that while the Peace Council has perennially created PSAs for assorted issues and causes, this time around it is soliciting others to come up with longer form content.
As executive director/founder of the Peace Council, Russ manages an organizational board of 16 creative professionals. Over the years, Peace Council fare has consistently earned inclusion into SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery, the latest example coming in November 2005 for “Screwdriver,” a PSA which promoted The Center For Child Protection in Austin.
Now the Peace Council has extended its reach into longer form via an initiative for client the New Milestones Foundation, a group which works in collaboration with the Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center to expand awareness of mental illness and to eradicate its stigma while raising funds to address the needs of those affected by mental retardation, mental illness or substance abuse issues.
New Milestones and the Peace Council are teaming on the We Don’t Talk About Chris Film Festival, which is seeking short and feature-length films that tell the story of living with mental illness. The hope is that these films will promote awareness and understanding of mental health problems–and help in fund-raising efforts as well. Already, said Russ, about a dozen films have been entered into the competition, with entrants being a mix of independent filmmakers and nonprofessionals who have a story to tell.
The Peace Council is actively seeking more entries. Furthermore Russ has secured legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles of Maysles Films, New York, as a judge to review submitted work. Maysles and Russ have known each other for some time, initially striking up a rapport when they collaborated on a Wal-Mart campaign out of GSD&M.
Judges will pick approximately five to seven winning short films (no more than 30 minutes each) and a feature length film (one to two hours long). There is a total of $5,000 in cash prizes. Plans call for the winning work to be screened during a film festival event, scheduled for April 20, 2007. Work will also be posted on the New Milestones Foundation Web site, and winning entries will also likely gain DVD distribution, according to Russ.
“This is another way for the Peace Council to do some good, helping to see that important issues are addressed, using our communication skills to promote something worthwhile,” related Russ.
For more info, entry forms and rules, log onto www.newmilestonesfilmfestival.com. Entry deadline is January 17.
DGA Award Nominees Set For TV, Documentaries and Commercials
The Directors Guild of America has unveiled the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2024. The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Garnering multiple nods in their respective categories of Dramatic Series, Comedy Series and Movies for TV/Limited Series were, respectively, Shogun, The Bear and The Penguin. Three of the five nominations in Dramatic Series went to Shogun--Hiromi Kamata for the “Ladies of the Willow World Episode,” Frederick E.O. Toye for “Crimson Sky” and Jonathan van Tulleken for “Anjin.” The other two nods were garnered by Alex Graves for The Diplomat episode “Dreadnought” and Issa Lopez for the “Part 6” installment of True Detective, Night Country. The Bear also took three out of five nominations, in the Comedy Series category: Directors Ayo Edebiri for the “Napkins” episode, Duccio Fabbri for “Doors,” and Christopher Storer for “Tomorrow.” The other two Comedy Series nods went to Lucia Aniello for the Hacks episode “Bulletproof” and Jeff Schaffer for the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode “No Lessons Learned.” And garnering three of the five nods in Movies For Television and Limited Series was The Penguin: Directors Kevin Bray for “Top Hat,” Jennifer Getzinger for “A Great or Little Thing” and Helen Shaver for “Cent’anni.” Rounding out the category were nominationns for Alfonso Curaon on the strength of Disclaimer, and Steven Zaillian for Ripley. Nominated in the Documentary category were Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev for... Read More