This spot opens in a rustic field on the outskirts of a silhouetted iconic small town as an image of a sun emanates rays of light from the screen of a large-scale cellular phone sitting on the horizon. The viewer is transported to a fanciful place where a diner chef has customer meal orders sent to him virtually by a waitress, animated cider splashes into glasses, mobile phones–with vibrant red apples on their screens–hang from a tree ripe for the picking, a statue of Abraham Lincoln raises a phone to his ear, and Main Street is lined with lollipop trees and other whimsical trimmings.
A sign lets us know that we’re in Bluephoria (“Population: Happy”), a town made possible by Bluegrass Cellular.
Jerry Pope of Two Popes, Minneapolis, directed the live action, working closely with a coterie of talent at Crash+Sues, Minneapolis, which handled visual effects, 2D and 3D animation, motion design, color correction, creative editing and finishing. “Bluephoria” was conceived by creatives at Louisville, KY-based ad agency Bandy Carroll Hellige.
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