Biracial writer/director Colin Francis Costello has partnered with Hometeam for select commercial production projects.
Lagan Sebert–who founded Hometeam with Harrison Winter and Brandon Bloch–said of Costello, “Because of his deep expertise as a writer and agency side creative, he offers Hometeam and our clients an exciting option for projects that need strong narrative style directing.”
Costello’s films and web series have screened at Academy-qualifying festivals including LA Shorts, Hollyshorts, The American Black Film Festival, Dances with Films and Idyllwild. His short films have also screened all over the U.S. and internationally including Australia, France, Canada and Germany.
He honed his storytelling skills working in advertising as a creative director/copywriter for over 20 years. During his years in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Costello conceived, supervised and wrote for a wide range of clients including The Los Angeles Dodgers, Netflix, McDonald’s, Budweiser, Dr. Pepper/7-UP, Gatorade, Jack n’ the Box, Toyota, Lexus, Target, Disney, Marvel and AT&T.
His debut short film, The After Party, which he wrote and directed, has played in 25 festivals internationally and won five. His second short film, Dreamwisher, has won 10 awards in the United States and internationally. Costello won Best Director and Best Comedy at the French Riviera Film Festival in Cannes for an LGBTQ+ web series titled From Russia with Motive.
Costello was involved in the launch of Spike Lee’s ad agency, Spike DDB. He worked with Lee for a year, considering him a friend and a mentor. Costello’s work attracted the attention of other notable filmmakers including another mentor, Marcus Nispel, as well as author, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, whom Costello worked with on a Gatorade project.
Costello is currently on the film festival circuit for Storage, a psychological short thriller, which just won best Sci-Fi Horror distinction at the French Riviera Film Festival.
Though his short films have won, cumulatively, over 25 awards and honors, it is not awards recognition that drives him. Being biracial, Costello strives to connect his audiences with the personal, sometimes daunting journey of his protagonists. His projects focus on the interpersonal relationships which happen when placing characters in extraordinary situations. These themes are reflected in Costello’s upcoming feature, Na0mi, which is currently in development.
“Having the support of Hometeam as I dig deeper into directing is very humbling,” said Costello. “When I met Lagan, I felt a natural bond with the company and I genuinely believed in their exciting plans for the future. Working with this talented and welcoming family gives me the opportunity to help them meet these goals. They have surrounded me with creative people, allowing me to do what I love, which is tell stories whether they are 30-seconds or 90 minutes. I’m so stoked to be part of such a talented and welcoming family.”
Sebert added, “Our clients have increasingly asked for directors with narrative comedy chops who can work on digital content sized budgets and with Colin we now deliver them a world class director with a unique perspective and confident hand whose work is at once authentic and provocative.”
Recently, Hometeam has been creating content across the U.S. and around the world for TV shows on networks like NBC’s The Voice and American Song Contest, streaming platforms HBO Max, Apple TV+, Discovery+, as well as numerous brands and agencies which include Google, Volkswagen, Niantic, Walmart and AmEx. Last year, Hometeam also launched its first original content series on Discovery+, Conjuring Kesha.
Hometeam is represented on the East Coast by Anna Rotholz, and Surita Mansukhani serves as Midwest director of business development.
