Public Record, a Brooklyn-based production and entertainment company, has signed director Daisy Zhou for her first commercial representation. With diverse experience as a cinematographer, she quickly transitioned into directing when a movement-driven spec spot caught the eye of both Public Record EP Jeremy Yaches and a marketing team from Nike New York. Her new spot for the brand has just launched ahead of the NYC Pride march, featuring transgender international vogue dancer Leiomy Maldonado and Nike’s new BETRUE collection.
Shanghai-born Zhou went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, earning a BFS in Film and TV and has since dedicated herself to learning every aspect of production hands-on for narrative projects and features, commercials and music videos. Her experience includes serving as gaffer for the 2017 film The Strange Ones, which hosted its worldwide premiere at SXSW. Her original short, How To Be a Black Panther, which she wrote and directed, was chosen as an official selection for the Brooklyn Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and Byron Bay International Film Festival. As a DP, Zhou cut her teeth on commercial projects for such clients as Lincoln, W Magazine, Chanel, Victoria’s Secret, and Vox, as well as music videos for artists including Margaret Zhang, Banks, Mykki Blanco, Boston Manor, Cai Guo Qiang, and James Blunt.
Zhou said of her first commercialmaking roost, “No matter the type of project, Public Record is deeply invested in the subjects and people at the core of the narrative and authentically telling their stories. In their commercial work they take a personal and human approach, and carefully investigate the story of the brand, which is very in line with my style of directing.”
