Australian director Graeme Burfoot, whose spotmaking roost Down Under is The Feds, has secured stateside representation, joining the roster of Mechaniks, the Venice-based house headed by exec producer Andrea Kikot and director Boris Damast.
Among Burfoot’s most recent work are spots for Volkswagen out of DDB Needham Sydney, Mitsubishi for Clemenger/BBDO Sydney, Woolworth Kids for M&C Saatchi, Sydney, GM/Holden via McCann Erickson Melbourne, and Mobil Exxon for McCann in New York and Russia.
His NBCC campaign for Breast Cancer won him a silver award for best direction at 2007 London Awards, a finalist for best direction at the 2007 Asia Pacific Adfest and a bronze for best direction at the 2007 Clio Awards.
Burfoot is known for combining top drawer actor performances and visual effects to make for engaging storytelling. His body of work, though, extends well beyond commercials.
Burfoot’s short film The Beneficiary was shortlisted for the Academy Awards in 1999. The Beneficiary hit the festival circuit globally and won honors in Palm Springs.
In ’02, Burfoot directed the three-part drama of Robert Drew’s lauded book “Shark Net” for the ABC and BBC, earning him an AFI nomination. The Bryan Brown “Two Twisted” episode for Channel Nine, Australia, then earned him a best director nomination at the Directors’ Guild Awards.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More