GARTNER has added director Benjamin Lee Gordon to its roster, marking the first time he has been repesented in the U.S. for commercials. Gordon is an up-and-coming talent who has already made his mark in Europe, perhaps most notably with work for the Barcelona River Plate Fan Club and automotive client Seat.
Barcelona River Plate Fan Club’s “We Are Far Away, We Need To Shout Louder” campaign for Draftfcb, Barcelona, earned two Gold Caples Awards, a FIAP Award and was shortlisted at Cannes. The success of this project led to his landing Seat’s epic “Express Yourself” launch for the Ibiza ST model out of Barcelona agency Athletico International–a 50-spot multi-platform campaign spanning nine countries in Europe.
The Seat and River Plate fare was produced by The Cannonball and Sonda Productions, respectively–two production houses which continue to handle Gordon in Spain. He is also repped by Doctor Troy in Europe.
Gordon’s additional directing credits include commercials targeting audiences in Spain for Nike (“Dominoes”), Nokia (“Husband & Wife” and “Couples”), Brugal Rum (“Route 44”), Ford (“Priorities”) and for music app Shazam (“On the Beach” and “In the Park”). His short films include The Floorless, Naturaleza Muerta (Still Life), Lake Chinatown, Erhu, and La Bola Peluda (The Hairy Ball which won an Audience Award at the Malaga Fantastic Film Festival).
Gordon’s upbringing and education laid the foundation for his career as an international spot helmer. He was born in London to North American parents and raised in the countryside near the small town of Mijas, in Andalusia. Upon receiving a BA at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Gordon returned to southern Spain, where he worked his way up in the camera department in the region’s service industry. His directing style visibly stems from his multi-cultural background, with projects based on cultural, emotional and visual juxtapositions.
Gordon rounds out a GARTNER roster comprised of directors David Cornell, James Gartner, Marcel Langenegger, Mike Bigelow, Raymond Bark, Ted Melfi, and Shona Auerbach.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More