Lacey Uhlemeyer has been added to Wondros Collective’s directorial roster for commercials and branded content. In this new year, Uhlemeyer shot a second commercial campaign for Amazon, this time via Wondros Collective. She also just completed her first short film, City of Widows, which is destined for the festival circuit.
With viral play across digital platforms, Uhlemeyer won a Webby Award for her series The Artisans of Italy in 2016, and the next year was nominated for Endangered, which explored endangered indigenous people worldwide, including natives who have been displaced, losing their identities and livelihoods. Her piece on a Syrian refugee dancer, Peace and Dance, went viral on Facebook with over 20 million views in 24 hours and won a Shorty Award, an honor from an annual competition recognizing the storytellers that produce real-time, short form content across the social web. She has created digital, docu-style, branded content for Amazon, PACT Underwear and National Parks Service. This past year, Lacey collaborated with Nike to celebrate International Women’s Day, and has worked alongside other major brands including Uber, HP and IBM. Prior to joining Wondros Collective, Uhlemeyer was handled in the ad arena by MediaMonks.
“As a storyteller, I have always been drawn to telling human stories,” explained Uhlemeyer. “I was first introduced to Wondros in 2013 when I saw Jesse [Dylan, founder/CEO of the overall Wondros] speak on a panel at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference about media’s ability to create change. At the time, I was working in the non-profit sector and was interested in learning more about film’s ability to create awareness for causes. That talk inspired me to change career paths and throw myself fully into learning all I could about production and filmmaking. All these years later, I am thrilled to be presented the opportunity to join a company that not only played a pivotal part in my journey as a director, but aligns so closely with my values.”
For Uhlemeyer, 2020 has already proven to be a stellar year; signing with Wondros Collective and then having client Amazon come back to her for a second commercial campaign, highlighting its brand truths and the small businesses they support. “It was so great to champion two women-run companies (Nut Pods and Darlyng & Co in the Amazon spots),” concluded the director. “I look forward to working on more projects that explore how brands touch individuals in a meaningful way.”
“We are continuing to build out our roster with directors who can work across all genres and categories,” said Wondros Collective EP Danielle Peretz. “Lacey is definitely a strong visual storyteller and filmmaker, as well as a great human, which is important to us. Bringing directors into our company who share our values in terms of the quality of the work, and also how we work respectfully and collaboratively is very important to everyone here at Wondros.”
