Lineup includes filmmakers who recently made the cut for SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase
The One Club for Creativity announced the diverse group of 29 talented individuals and teams in eight countries who have been selected as winners in the Young Guns 21 competition, celebrating creative professionals around the world age 30 or younger.
Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creatives.
Included in this year’s Young Guns lineup are directors C.T. Robert of Partizan Entertainment, and the Turner Brothers (Julien and Justen) of Invisible Collective. Robert and the Turner Brothers recently earned inclusion in SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase.
Young Guns 21 winners are:
- Max Amato, graphic designer, illustrator, artist, author, Brooklyn
- Justin Au, designer, animator, art director, Gretel, Brooklyn
- Tess Ayano, photographer, director, New York
- Caroline Bagley, designer, Apple, San Francisco
- Giada Bossi, film director, Milan
- Ryan Bugden, type and graphic designer, Brooklyn
- CARAZ, director, Montréal
- Troy Charbonnet, filmmaker. Los Angeles
- Marie Chénier, graphic designer, Caserne, Montréal
- Alex Cook, director, Los Angeles
- Faire Type, type foundry, Brooklyn
- Amir Hamja, photographer, The New York Times, New York
- ILLIMITÉWORLD, creative collective, Barking Owl Sound, Los Angeles
- Kajal, director, photographer, writer, Fela, New York
- Brindha Kumar, illustrator, London
- Marte, graphic designer, lettering artist, New York
- Mischelle Moy, photographer, digital artist, Brooklyn
- Zin Nagao, designer, Fukuoka
- Alistair Nicholls, director, animator, Smile at the moon studios, Norwich (UK)
- Gabriela Ortega, director, Jevita Films, Los Angeles/Santo Domingo
- Darius Ou Dahao, graphic designer, Studio Darius Ou, Singapore
- C.T. Robert, director, director, Partizan Entertainment, Los Angeles
- Suzanne Saroff, photographer, director, HiSuzanne, Brooklyn
- Sinan Sevinç, director, Stink Films, Stuttgart
- The Turner Brothers, directors, Invisible Collective, Columbus (US)
- Marleen Valien, director, Anonymous Content, Berlin
- Zuheng Yin, art director, visual artist, New York
- Jiaqi Wang, illustrator, animator, Brooklyn
- Zhang & Knight, directors, Serial Pictures, London
This year’s entries were judged by a diverse jury of 100 top creatives from 47 countries, many of whom are past YG winners.
This year’s winners will be celebrated at a special ceremony and party hosted by famed designer, author, educator, and “Design Matters” podcaster Debbie Millman on November 15, 2023 at Sony Hall in New York.
At the event, The One Club will also announce the Young Guns 21 Creative Choice Award winner, as voted by the global creative community. Anyone can view the work of this year’s winners and vote on which one they believe stands above all others. Voting is open here through November 10, 2023, 11:59 pm PT.
Levine/Leavitt Artist In Residence Award
International artists management agency and Young Guns sponsor Levine/Leavitt will also bestow one talented YG21 winner with the Artist In Residence Award at the event.
The honor, now in its 10th year, is presented annually to a newly crowned Young Gun whose body of work truly stands out, as judged by an advisory board of industry professionals across a range of disciplines. The winner receives a full year of professional development, guidance and mentorship from Levine/Leavitt to help advance their career.
All Young Guns winners receive a unique version of the iconic Young Guns Cube, designed exclusively for this year’s incoming class, and have their permanent profile page added to the Young Guns website. Winners also get a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the Young Guns network, and a chance to be featured in Young Guns events.
Program branding and design of the YG Cube award itself is reimagined each year by a past Young Gun winner. This year’s YG21 branding was created by Zuzanna Rogatty (YG18), senior designer at COLLINS New York.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More