Oceana Branding has signed director Jan Boon for exclusive commercial and branded content representation in the U.S. Boon is probably best known for his prowess in documentary-style branding, an example being his short for Samsung titled, The Worst Instagram Ever, which took Gold at last year’s Shanghai Film Festival. The short introduces us to Runar Johnson, a Nordic fisherman who loves photography. However, his wife concedes that Runar may be the worst photographer ever. For his part, Runar defends his mostly dark photographs, blaming the lack of light in Iceland. In the end, Runar is given a new Samsung phone to shoot with and reunited with a man who years ago saved him from a deadly fishing accident.
Boon’s other recent directorial credits span such brands as Smirnoff and Carlsberg. His work has garnered a Bronze Lion at Cannes, Silver at the London International Awards, and Bronze at Eurobest, among other honors.
Boon is the son of screenplay writer Jacques Boon. As a teenager, Jan Boon photographed and documented the deviant behavior of various hooligan groups and selected rock bands. He received his first degree in sketching, lithography and photography at the Academy of Arts in Anderlect, Belgium. He then studied film at two Brussels-based film schools, RITS and NARAFI, receiving a degree in Screenplay Writing from the Flemish Script Academy. Between 2004-2006 Boon directed music videos for a variety of Belgium music artists, garnering an MTV award. His love of music took Boon to the stage, writing several musical plays, collaborating with producer Liesbeth Vereerbrugghen.
Boon directed his first spot in 2006 for the women’s magazine Flair, garnering a second place Young Director Award in Cannes. Since, Boon has created a body of spot work known for visual storytelling and actor-based “high brow” humor.
“Oceana Branding is all about introducing directorial gems from around the world to the U.S.,” said company director/founder/EP Danny Sawaf. “Jan Boon’s genius lies in his ability to create riveting, branding styled docs in ways we’ve never seen before. He’s a world-class screenwriter, photographer and director.”
