Spears & Arrows, the nine-year-old commercial production company led by founder/managing director Jason Wolk, has added director Sasha Levinson to its roster.
Levinson is, perhaps, best known in advertising circles for her 2019 branded short film for Las Vegas Tourism. Depicting a surprise lesbian wedding, the film premiered on YouTube and immediately went viral with over 13 million views and went on to garner the highest positive comment rating for branded entertainment in YouTube’s history.
“What I like about Sasha, besides the fact that she is a world-class filmmaker and storyteller with a strong and unique point of view,” said Wolk, “is that she approaches her work with such an inclusive and collaborative spirit. It is a potent combination that infuses real joy and integrity into not only the films that she makes, but into her working life and relationships as well. It’s a holistic approach that we, at Spears & Arrows share, and we are very proud and excited to welcome Sasha to our family,”
Levinson shared, “With the upheaval of the last few years, I found myself craving more meaningful relationships in my work life. Jason kept coming into my sphere and, over and over again, I kept hearing that he was a man of high integrity. I was also drawn to the fact that Jason is the founder of A Walk on Water, a charity organization that provides transformative surf therapy to kids with unique needs. This says so much about Jason and it definitely influenced my decision to join the roster.”
Levinson’s first feature film, Sylvie Of The Sunshine State, premiered at the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival where it won the George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award. “My goal for 2023,” Levinson said, “is to use what I have learned making feature films to make my commercials ever more emotional, engaging, and impactful.”
Levinson spent her formative years directing music videos with such luminaries as Mary J Blige, 50 Cent, Angelique Kidjo, and Cake. The director’s commercials and music videos have been nominated for MTV, AICP, and Addy Awards, and have been published in the Communication Arts Annual. Her short films have premiered at SXSW, Soho, and Cleveland International Film Festivals, and in 2016, she created a film for the Dalai Lama to communicate his vision of peace for the Western World. It was her experience making this film that crystallized her mission as a filmmaker: to uplift others through joy and integrity.
“I approach every commercial project like a piece of art,” Levinson noted. “It is a wonderful experience to work in a medium with such clear objectives and with such collaborative teams. I love doing this work, and the decades-long career that I have had doing it has been such a gift.”
Prior to joining Spears & Arrows Levinson was most recently represented by Tool of North America. Before that, she was with Humble.
In addition to Levinson, Spears & Arrows currently represents directors Ago Panini, Anton Jøsef, Arni Thor Jonsson, Christina Hodnet, David Hicks, David Stoddart, Don Broida, Lisa Linke, Michael Shapiro, Michael Uppendahl, Mick Wong, Olivier Staub, Rob Fiocca, Steve Fuller, Timothy Kendall (West & Texas), and Wondo.
