We open on a “For Sale” sign in front of a suburban home, at which point the camera takes us inside the abode where two men seated at a table are in heavy negotiations. They take turns writing dollar figures down–offers and counteroffers–on a notepad. One guy pushes the pad across the table to the other. This goes on back and forth repeatedly, with each taking turns scoffing at the other’s proposal.
But with each push of the notepad, the men are aging, not so gracefully. Both eventually have full grown beards and other out-of-control facial hair to underscore the passage of many years. Similarly one of the gents is going bald, with his facial fur turning gray.
Finally, in a show of being hospitable despite their protracted negotiations, one of the men offers the other a banana from a nearby fruit bowl–except with the advancement of years, the banana skin is totally black, with its contents rotted.
A voiceover intervenes, “Buying or selling a house. Next time go with a Shorewest agent. they’ve got the tools and training to make everything go smoothly.”
“Negotiation” was part of a two-spot package directed by Kevin Samuels of Crossroads Films, bicoastal, Chicago and London, for agency BVK, Milwaukee. The BVK team included creative director Jeff Ericksen, copywriter Mike Holicek and art director Jody Spychalla.
Dean Winkler executive produced for Crossroads, with Martell Rose serving as producer. The DP was Marc Laliberte Else.
Editor was Rob Due of Independent Studios, Milwaukee.
Michelle Satter To Be Honored At Sundance Film Festival Gala
The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced details for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute, which will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The event will be an evening in celebration of Michelle Satter, founding sr. director of artist programs at Sundance Institute, for her longstanding commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through the Sundance Labs, where visionary artists convene to develop groundbreaking projects through an in-depth creative process, for the past four decades. The annual Vanguard Awards will be presented during the evening to Sean Wang, writer and director of Dìdi, and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane, who premiered their films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The annual gala enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists from all over the world. The 2025 event is made possible with the generous support of Google TV. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling.
“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” said Amanda Kelso, acting CEO of Sundance Institute. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem. Her life-long commitment to supporting artists, especially in underrepresented... Read More