Director Lan Freedman has joined Camp Lucky for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. Freedman has directed campaigns for brands including 7-Eleven, American Airlines, Texas Rangers, Dewar’s, State Farm, RAM, and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. The latter campaign starred Ice T.
Camp Lucky EP Brandon Tapp said, “Lan is the type of director that puts every bit of himself into his work. And if you know Lan, you know that’s a good thing! His quick wit, intellect, and charm–all personality traits that translate to the screen in every project he touches. Combine that with an innate ability to connect and collaborate with extraordinary talent, both in front of and behind the camera, and you have, in Lan, the perfect complement to the Camp’s talented pool of artists.”
“I’m really excited about becoming a part of Camp Lucky,” noted Freedman. “They have long been known for their impressive body of work and creative culture to match. The people of Camp Lucky are both down to earth and also driven by their enthusiasm for craft–I feel a sense of kinship and am excited to see what we create together.”
Freedman went to film school in Texas and did multiple internships and apprenticeships in California including one at Kodak. Originally a psychology major, he intended to pursue a career as a therapist, but soon realized the elements he enjoyed–connecting with people and understanding human behavior–could be expressed and experienced in the art of storytelling. He started on the post side of charlieuniformtango–an experience that continues to inform his work–and then found his ultimate passion in directing.
From there, Freedman’s career intensified and his talent gained further recognition when he earned a slot in SHOOT’s 2018 New Directors Showcase when he was on the directorial roster of charlieuniformtango, his most recent roost prior to joining Camp Lucky. Among his many collaborations, Freedman directed a series of content pieces for Google and YouTube that debuted at Sundance and then rolled out at SXSW challenging the way we tell stories at various lengths, starting at six seconds. He continues to find inspiration in the ever-changing state of advertising production, chemistry in performance, narrative development, and the joy of storytelling in all forms. When he’s not directing, he is a programmer for the Oak Cliff Film Festival and a mentor for the Pegasus Media Project in Dallas, which aims to empower emerging film, media, and multidisciplinary artists with a special focus on women, ALAANA, LGBTQIA+, veterans, and those with learning differences.
Lois Lipman’s “First We Bombed New Mexico” Tells Story of Downwinders From 1st Atomic Test
It was the summer of 1945 when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, killing thousands of people as waves of destructive energy obliterated two cites. It was a decisive move that helped bring about the end of World War II, but survivors and the generations that followed were left to grapple with sickness from radiation exposure.
At the time, U.S. President Harry Truman called it "the greatest scientific gamble in history," saying the rain of ruin from the air would usher in a new concept of force and power. What he didn't mention was that the federal government had already tested this new force on U.S. soil.
Just weeks earlier in southern New Mexico, the early morning sky erupted with an incredible flash of light. Windows rattled hundreds of miles away and a trail of fallout stretched to the East Coast.
Ash from the Trinity Test rained down for days. Children played in it, thinking it was snow. It covered fresh laundry that was hanging out to dry. It contaminated crops, singed livestock and found its way into cisterns used for drinking water.
The story of New Mexico's downwinders — the survivors of the world's first atomic blast and those who helped mine the uranium needed for the nation's arsenal — is little known. But that's changing as the documentary "First We Bombed New Mexico" racks up awards from film festivals across the United States.
It's now screening in the northern New Mexico community of Los Alamos as part of the Oppenheimer Film Festival. It marks a rare chance for the once secret city that has long celebrated the scientific discoveries of J. Robert Oppenheimer — the father of the atomic bomb — to contemplate another more painful piece of the nation's nuclear legacy.
The film, directed and... Read More