Director Lenard Dorfman has signed with O Positive for commercial representation. His first campaigns at his new roost are for FedEx via BBDO New York and the New York Lottery out of DDB NY, which will begin airing this month.
Among his notable credits are the Village Voice's 2012 Cannes Gold Lion-winning campaign "New York Writes Itself" for Leo Burnett, NY, Coca-Cola's "The Commentary" in which we feel the passion of a blind football fan in a stadium, and Volkswagen's "Grand Slam," a subtle comedic spot which demonstrates the car's remarkable sturdiness through the unabashed habits of its door-slamming owner.
Dorfman was last represented by RSA Films following a lengthy tenure at @radical.media. He has directed commercials for Nike, AmEx, IBM, GE, Guinness and Mercedes-Benz, among others. Among his more recent endeavors are the "Tribes" campaign for the FFA Hyundai A-League Football championship, Bank of America's "Morning," and a film and ad campaign starring French football legend Zinedine Zidane that helped the Middle East win its historic bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Dorfman has earned numerous accolades, including Cannes Lions, D&AD distinction, One Show Pencils, AICP Show honors, BTAA Arrows and a 2001 DGA Award nomination for Best Commercial Director of the Year. He became a DGA nominee on the strength of such work as his two Summer Olympic-themed IBM spots–"Harlem Fencer" and "Senegal Women's Basketball"–for Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
Dorfman began his career directing documentaries, with his first films–Dancing With Cowboys, The Lost Cowboys and The Youngest Cowboy–commissioned by Canal Plus France and broadcast globally. He also counts the pilot of Sundance Channel's pioneering Iconoclasts series, featuring Tom Ford and Jeff Koons, among his credits.
"I've been fortunate to work regularly on either side of the pond," said Dorfman. "This has enabled me to pursue a variety of work that I love doing, namely narrative storytelling and subtle comedy along with more documentary, real people storytelling. I think this range of work makes for a terrific fit to the directors here at O Positive."
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