Voyager has added Toronto-based director Chrris Lowe to its roster for representation in the U.S. (In Canada she is repped by Boldly.) Her body of work spans commercials, music videos and documentaries for clients such as Spotify, Ally Bank, Rapha Sportswear and Multiverse.
“We look for holistic filmmakers in their own right who value collaboration over ego,” said Voyager co-founder and exec producer Andrew Hutcheson. “After seeing Chrris’ work initially, we really got the sense that she was someone pushing the envelope of her work creatively and pushing herself with each opportunity. She is endlessly curious and has Voyager’s sensibilities written in her DNA as if we’d been working with her for a lifetime.”
Voyager co-founder and director Charles Frank added, “She has that x-factor combination of talent and drive complimented by grace and kindness. We are incredibly excited to be a part of supporting her journey as she embarks on this new chapter of her commercial career, and to just experience getting to work with someone this talented at such an emerging moment.”
With a degree in social work and a deep care for fostering relationships through impactful projects, Lowe tells the varied experiences of the BIPOC community through the lens of a Black, Queer woman herself. Leading with care, community and intentionality, her passion began through photography as a creative outlet outside of her academic work. While shooting BTS on film sets, it became apparent that she carried the qualities of a director, which ultimately led her to dive into the world of directing and filmmaking, exploring the human experience in a way that feels relatable and celebrates the small but very rich details that contribute to day to day life.
Prior to Lowe joining Voyager, she and Frank collaborated on her most recent Vimeo Staff Pick for In Tandem–a short documentary centered around L39ION of Los Angeles, America’s first Black-owned pro cycling team. In a more recent project for Multiverse, a platform that matches young talent with apprenticeship roles and existing employees with new opportunities, Lowe directed a comedic campaign, “The Future of Learning is Working.”
“Voyager not only cares deeply about the work that’s being created but also acts as advocates for the voices of everyone on the team,” said Lowe. “They’ve created a space to feel valued not only as a creative, but as a human being. Through them I saw that it was possible to push the boundaries of commissioned work to tell stories that speak to and explore humanity in a meaningful way and that’s really all I wanted to do. The entire team is a rare bunch and I am so happy to be joining them and creating many beautiful things together.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More