By Robert Goldrich

A veteran attendee of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, executive producer and co-founder of Park Pictures, will for the first time be judging at the competition, serving on the 2015 Film Craft Lions jury.

It’s safe to say that Bisbee knows a thing or two about film craft, starting with the depth of her commercialmaking experience, highlighted by a content-rich relationship with director Lance Acord whom she teamed with to launch Park Pictures in 1998. Acord has been nominated for the DGA Award in the Commercials category three times for his work in 2004, 2012 and 2013. He directed Apple’s “Misunderstood” which won the primetime commercial Emmy Award last year.

Park Pictures and its filmmakers have won international accolades for celebrated campaigns for the likes of Apple, Nike, adidas and Volkswagen. Bisbee’s ongoing spot and branded entertainment endeavors at Park Pictures with Acord and other notable directors are, however, just part of her film craft expertise.

Park Pictures, for example, has both an Emmy and Oscar on its mantle. Bisbee produced the Academy Award-winning short The New Tenants. Additionally Park has as of late turned out high profile music videos for directors Vincent Haycock (Florence and the Machine, U2) and AG Rojas (Run the Jewels) as well as shorts for the DGA Award-nominated directorial duo The Mercadantes.

Furthermore, Park Pictures has diversified successfully into theatrical features. Park’s movie division–headed by Bisbee, Acord and producer Sam Bisbee–has produced four features, all of which have been showcased at the Sundance Film Festival over a three-year stretch: Robot and Frank (2013), Infinitely Polar Bear (2014), God’s Pocket (2014), and Cop Car (2015).

Jackie Kelman Bisbee is no stranger to the awards show judging circuit. In fact, she served as chairperson of the AICP Show in 2012. SHOOT caught up with her this week to gain insights into her upcoming Cannes jury duty as well as the latest developments at Park Pictures.

SHOOT: What’s the appeal of jury duty, specifically the chance to be a Film Craft Lions judge?

Bisbee: Having gone to Cannes for so many years and seeing the scope of the work, I’m looking forward to having the different perspective of a judge, to be on the inside. It’s valuable to be able to see what’s being done on a global level. Sitting in a room for days screening and discussing work gives you a deeper understanding of what people are doing. Everyone I’ve talked to who has ever served on a Cannes jury says it’s well worth it.

Being among your peers and discussing the merits of the work is very appealing to me. We’re all insulated day to day, in my case as a production company owner in the U.S. To be able to not only see what’s going on internationally but to get a feel for how our work is received internationally is extremely valuable. You get a better sense of what’s going to hit or miss.

SHOOT: What does it mean to you personally and professionally to be a Cannes judge–and add to that the dimension of being a woman juror. In 2013, only 20 percent of judges at Cannes were women. That jumped to 28.5 percent in 2014 and 31.5 percent this year. This increase is being attributed to a push for greater diversity at the festival, which includes the introduction of the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change award, which honors gender stereotype-shattering work in marketing messages.

Bisbee: This is my first time as a Cannes judge so it’s nice to check that off on the bucket list. And it’s good that more women judges are being brought into the process. Just being a female production company co-owner, I’m part of a small club. There are not many of us at a higher level. I hope that what we see at Cannes goes beyond just women judges. Park Pictures has been a big advocate of female directors. Part of what our company is about from the day we opened was to advocate and nurture female directors. At the end of the day, I still believe the work should speak for itself no matter who it comes from. Still, I hope we will see more great work from female directors at Cannes.

Things have gotten better in TV for women but advertising and movies are still quite a bit behind. It’s worrisome and disappointing that more progress hasn’t been made.

SHOOT: What do you hope to get from your Cannes judging experience? What will it enable you to bring back to your colleagues at Park Pictures?

Bisbee: It’s hard to say since this will be my first time on a Cannes jury. But coming back with a better sense of what plays internationally can be helpful–not just for international jobs we get at Park but also for our domestic work. We may be able to see that by adding a certain dimension to a domestic project, we can give it more universal appeal. I hope what I bring back from Cannes will encourage us to be more open-minded about scripts that come in, and encourage our company and directors to take risks they wouldn’t have before. You can’t go on just being comfortable doing the same thing over and over again.

We are looking to get the most out of projects. There are great scripts that practically come with a Gold Lion–the concept is that good. But there are others where you don’t quite see the potential until you get further into the project, until you see the director’s vision for it and then give it a great execution. I hope we will be better able to see the potential of everything that comes into the company–and what we can do to best realize that potential.

SHOOT: What’s next in the continued development and evolution of Park Pictures?

Bisbee: The latest news is that we just hired Scott Howard as an executive producer in our L.A. office, He was formerly the senior EP at MJZ. We’re delighted to have him at Park.

Our feature division has two films coming out this summer. Infinitely Polar Bear, directed by Maya Forbes, is set for release on June 19 with Sony Classics distributing.

And on August 7, Cop Car is coming out through Focus. John Watts directed who we have signed for commercials.

Sam, Lance and I are developing some feature film ideas, for Lance and others to direct. We’re also developing a couple of episodic TV shows which is a slow boil process but will represent a brand new area for Park Pictures.

My focus, though, continues to be commercials and branded content. And I hope to have some notable director signings in the next couple of months.
 

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