International Helmers Gain Prominence In SHOOT's Sixth Annual New Directors Showcase
By A SHOOT Staff Report
NEW YORK --SHOOT’s sixth annual New Directors Showcase–which will be marked by an evening screening, panel discussion and reception next week (5/28) at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Theater in New York–offers a total of 38 up-and-coming helmers filling 30 slots (23 individual directors, a three-person team and six directorial duos).
Per usual, prominent in the mix are ad agency artisans who have pursued their directing aspirations. And while directors from outside the U.S. have traditionally been a part of the SHOOT Showcase over the years, this time around they are even more prevalent. Among the notables are:
• Mattias Montero of Social Club in Stockholm whose ATG’s “Statues” commercial is featured in the New Directors Showcase
• The young duo known as Sumo Science of Aardman Animations in Bristol, U.K., who scored with their first major helming endeavor, Stereo vs. Vacuum, a pilot episode for a mobile phone series commissioned by the Aardman studio and Player X.
• Keith Bearden of Mr. Hyde, Paris, who’s repped stateside by Good Films, New York. His “Apartment Sharing” spot for Brandt Washing Machines via DDB Paris first gained inclusion in SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery (SHOOT, 11/30/07).
• Baby, a duo from production house Rebolucion in Buenos Aires, who helmed Huggies’ “Uterus” for Ogilvy & Mather, Buenos Aires.
• Christian Bevilacqua of Therapy Films, London, who artistically depicted the many facets of a potato skin in McCain’s “Rustics” for London agency Beattie McGuinness Bungay.
• Sam Holst of The Sweet Shop, Auckland, N.Z.., for a humorous yet unsettling spec spot titled “Slacker” for seek.com.au.
• Luis Carone of 02 Filmes, Sao Paulo, Brazil for AMC Car Insurance’s “Remote Control” out of DM9 DDB, Sao Paulo. Carone just signed for stateside representation with Venice, Calif.-based Backyard (see separate story in this issue).
• And Tony Briggs whose short film Creative Dictator for thecreamery.co.uk pokes fun–and for that matter, dry wit–at the agency business.
Furthermore, foreign work registered with SHOOT judges this year, including: Amnesty International’s moving “Signatures” directed by Philippe Grammaticopoulos of Mr. Hyde, Paris and London, and repped stateside by Mr. Hyde @ Curious New York (agency was TBWA Paris); a Uruguay Lottery spot which shows how spatial relationships change after a lotto win as captured by director Guillermo Rocamora of Big Mama Productions, New York (agency was Publicis Impetu, Montevideo); Diesel’s “Space Diner” directed by Rozan & Schmeltz of bicoastal/international Partizan (agency was Surface To Air, Paris); and Nike Plus’ “I Am Not A Runner” helmed by Eran Creevy of Sleeper Films, Santa Monica (Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam).
Creative pedigree As alluded to earlier, ad agency creatives who have transitioned to directing careers continue to make their mark in the Showcase, a prime example being Brian Billow who recently exited his creative director’s post at DDB Chicago (SHOOT, 4/11) to settle into the director’s chair at bicoastal/international Hungry Man. He registered in the Showcase with Wrigley’s “Big Red Montoya” for DDB Chicago.
Ryan Ebner of bicoastal/international HSI Productions was on the agency side for 13 years, serving as a creative/partner at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners in the Bay Area for most of his career. Ebner’s Showcase recognition came in part for his “MaternaCord” product spoof spot for Mother, New York.
And Harold Einstein started out as a copywriter before making the career shift to director. He is now on board the roster of bicoastal/international Station and gained Showcase inclusion for such humorous fare as Avis’ “Accents” for McCann Erickson, N.Y.
Team work Besides the aforementioned Baby, Sumo Science, and Rozan & Schmeltz, the other teams in the Showcase are: The Docter Twins from DUCK Studios, Los Angeles (for Wienerschnitzel’s “Gotcha” out of DGWB Advertising, Santa Ana, Calif.); Bitstate of The Ebeling Group, New York (for Havaianas’ “Bus Stop” via BBDO New York); Gentlemen from Uber Content, Hollywood (Doritos’ “Mouse Trap” via a competition overseen by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco); and the trio known as Syndrome from Robot Films, Los Angeles (for the Estelle music video featuring Kanye West and titled “American Boy”).
Meanwhile there was a fair smattering of spec fare in the Showcase such as director Tony McNeal’s “Emergency Worthy” for Levi’s (McNeal signed with the recently launched Hydraulx Filmz, Santa Monica); helmer Lanre Olabisi’s “A Better Way” for Yahoo! Personals; Guido Verweyen’s “Serenade” spot for Joe Boxer (Verweyen is handled in Texas for spots by Big Fish Films, Dallas); and Rob Devor’s “Clams” for Coleman (Devor is with bicoastal Nonfiction Unlimited).
Devor, a documentary filmmaker, recently landed an ambitious global campaign for Bonefish Grill out of Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York (see feature story in this week’s issue).
Speaking of documentaries, Great Genius And Profound Stupidity helped secure a Showcase slot for director Benita Raphan. The doc. is slated for air on the Sundance Channel.
Rounding out the SHOOT New Directors Showcase lineup are:
• Adria Petty of harvest, Santa Monica, for Target’s “Portal” via Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
• Rich Lee of DNA Hollywood whose pop-up book spot for Eni out of TBWA, Milan, is this week’s entry in SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery.
• David Katzenberg of Prettybird, Santa Monica for his short film The Tale of RJ.
• Keith Schofield of CaviarLA for Jennie-O’s “Wrestling” out of BBDO’s Minneapolis shop.
• Clay Weiner of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, for Bud Light’s “Dude” from DDB Chicago.
• And David Weinstock of Waif & Stray, N.Y., for Toyota’s “Icy Drive” out of The Ballpark, Santa Monica.
Lead sponsors for the Showcase event are the DGA, harvest and Sony. Silver sponsors are Kodak and Deluxe New York. For a full rundown of this year’s New Directors Showcase honorees, see our series of individual mini-profiles in this issue.
Steve McQueen Shows Wartime London Through A Child’s Eyes In “Blitz”
It was a single photograph that started Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen on the journey to make "Blitz." As a Londoner, the German bombing raids on the city during World War II are never all that far from his mind. Reminders of it are everywhere. But the spark of inspiration came from an image of a small boy on a train platform with a large suitcase. Stories inspired by the evacuation are not rare, but this child was Black. Who was he, McQueen wondered, and what was his story? The film, in theaters Friday and streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, tells the tale of George, a 9-year-old biracial child in East London whose life with his mother, Rita ( Saoirse Ronan ), and grandfather is upended by the war. Like many children at the time, he's put on a train to the countryside for his safety. But he hops off and starts a long, dangerous journey back to his mom, encountering all sorts of people and situations that paint a revelatory and emotional picture of that moment. SEARCHING FOR GEORGE AND FINDING A STAR When McQueen finished the screenplay, he thought to himself: "Not bad." Then he started to worry: Does George exist? Is there a person out there who can play this role? Through an open casting call they found Elliott Heffernan, a 9-year-old living just outside of London whose only experience was a school play. He was the genie in "Aladdin." "There was a stillness about him, a real silent movie star quality," McQueen said. "You wanted to know what he was thinking, and you leant in. That's a movie star quality: A presence in his absence." Elliott is now 11. When he was cast, he'd not yet heard about the evacuation and imagined that a film set would be made up of "about 100 people." But he soon found his footing, cycling in and out of... Read More