Filmmaker Fernando Livschitz has joined production company Logan Industry for U.S. commercial representation.
Livschitz’s work stands apart for its “magical realism” sensibility, in which narratives unfold organically to depict the extraordinary as something ordinary and common. His latest commercial, “Anywhere can happen” is for Singapore’s commuter network Zig via agency Mother. It combines live action, stock footage and postproduction, for a fantastical and surreal journey through the country.
“I have always appreciated the concept of magical realism,” said José Nuñez, founding partner/executive producer, Logan Industry. “All of Fernando’s work–commercials, content and visual art–has a fun and uplifting spirit that reveals the magical in the everyday and makes what he does special and astoundingly original.”
Livschitz–who earlier in his career had been with Havoc Content for spot representation in the U.S.–has a body of commercial work which spans clients including Real Madrid, Audi, Singapore Rediscovers and Piraeus Bank. He has also directed many acclaimed short films that are viral hits. Among the highlights, Lost in Motions, an ambitious stop-motion piece for Argentina’s “Artists Locked Down” pandemic project using over 800 individually laser cut elements painstakingly positioned and shot frame by frame; and the highly praised opening credits for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a tilt-shift aerial portrait of NYC as you’ve never seen it before shot over three months in New York with two months of post in Buenos Aires.
“As a director, I love showing how great life can be, and always strive to capture its magic and energy,” Livschitz said. “I try to create a charming, mind-boggling mood. I cast actors who come across as real and raw and use camera movements and visual resources that emote just as much as the characters they capture.”
About a decade ago, Argentine native Livschitz created his breakthrough short Buenos Aires Inception Park, which won a YDA Award at Cannes. The FX-driven film casts the metropolis as an amusement park, with people discovering its charms riding their favorite rides across the skyscape. Another original short, Rush Hour, portrays the mad chaos of an Argentina intersection at rush hour, with bicyclists and pedestrians narrowly escaping a deluge of cars. Although it looks shockingly real, it’s not.
Livschitz’s directorial career has taken him around the world, everywhere from the U.S., Spain, Greece and France to Russia, Dubai, Singapore and Thailand. He values a sense of camaraderie with production partners and was drawn to Logan Industry for his U.S. representation because of its production expertise and close-knit creative culture.
“I feel a family mood here,” Livschitz said. “It’s not the average production company with dozens of directors and producers. José and his executive producers Paul [Kawasaki] and Marthinus [Lamprecht] are a collaborative team who care about my work and are invested in what I want to do. I’m excited to start shooting!”
“I feel better about life after watching his work,” Lamprecht said. “When agencies see his work, they often invite him to be involved in the creative and concept early. While he’s skilled in FX, he likes to do as much as possible in camera, to shoot practically and take things out. Each piece he does is unique and amazing. After eighteen months of pandemic life, the world needs a smile. Fernando is that cherry on top of the cake.”
