Steve Ayson, Niclas Larsson, Taika Waititi round out this year’s field of nominees in the commercials category
By Robert Goldrich
LOS ANGELES --Nisha Ganatra of Chelsea Pictures and Melina Matsoukas of PRETTYBIRD are among the nominees for the DGA Award recognizing Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for 2020. This marks the first time that two solo female directors broke through with nominations in the spotmaking category in the same year.
The rest of this year’s field of DGA commercial nominees consists of directors Steve Ayson of MJZ; Niclas Larsson, also of MJZ; and Taika Waititi of Hungry Man.
Ganatra earned her first career DGA nomination on the strength of Bodyform/Libresse’s “#wombstories” for AMV BBDO.
Matsoukas’ Guild nod came for Beats by Dr. Dre’s “You Love Me” from agency Translation. This is the third career DGA Award nomination for Matsoukas but first for a commercial. Last year she was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film for Queen & Slim. Back in 2018, Matsoukas garnered her very first Guild nom, for the “Thanksgiving” episode of the TV comedy series Master of None.
Matsoukas and Ganatra join a select field of women directors to gain Guild recognition in the commercials category–the first being Amy Hill as half of the directorial duo Reiss/Hill in 1999; followed by Katrina Mercadante as half of the team known as The Mercadantes in 2015. That same year, Lauren Greenfield also received a nomination, making her the first individual female helmer to earn that distinction in the commercials competition. Greenfield, however, was no stranger to the nominees’ circle, having broken through for the feature documentary the Queen of Versailles back in 2013.
In 2018, Alma Har’el became the second solo woman director to be nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials since this category was established in 1980. Fast forward to today, and two more solo women directors have made the spotmaking cut.
Har’el of course made a major breakthrough last year when she won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film for Honey Boy.
MJZ
While scoring a pair of nominations is history making for solo female directors in the DGA commercials category, it’s become fairly routine for production house MJZ which again this year has more than one director nominated for the DGA Award in commercials. This time MJZ leads the production house derby with a couple more nods–for Ayson and Larsson. This marks Ayson’s third career DGA spot nomination and the first for Larsson.
This time around, Ayson was nominated for Nike’s “The Great Chase” out of Wieden+Kennedy, Shanghai. Meanwhile Larsson gains nominee status on the basis of two entries: VW Touareg’s “See the Unseen” for adam&eveDDB. and Volvo’s “The Parents” for Forsman & Bodenfors.
Rounding out this year’s spotmaking field is director Taika Waititi of Hungry Man who is nominated for Coca-Cola’s “The Letter” out of Wieden+Kennedy London. This is the second career DGA nod for Waititi whose first came in the feature film category last year for Jojo Rabbit.
Here’s a full rundown of the nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for 2020 (in alphabetical order):
STEVE AYSON
(MJZ)
The Great Chase, Nike – Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai
First Assistant Director: John Lowe
NISHA GANATRA
(Chelsea Pictures)
#wombstories, Bodyform/Libresse – AMVBBDO
NICLAS LARSSON
(MJZ)
See the Unseen, VW Touareg – adam&eveDDB
The Parents, Volvo XC60 – Forsman & Bodenfors
MELINA MATSOUKAS
(PRETTYBIRD)
You Love Me, Beats by Dr. Dre – Translation
First Assistant Director: Paul Norman
Second Assistant Director: Don Johnson
TAIKA WAITITI
(Hungry Man)
The Letter, Coca-Cola – Wieden & Kennedy London
The winners across commercials, TV and feature categories will be announced at the 73rd Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, April 10, 2021, which will be a private virtual event for DGA members.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More