The Directors Network (TDN), the talent agency for freelance directors and cinematographers, has added Danielle Shapira, an award-winning writer/director who’s attracted billions of eyeballs with her digital and commercial work for Vanity Fair, GQ, Architectural Digest and Allure. Whether she’s working with the next major Gen Z influencer or an A-list celebrity, Shapira, who’s based in both NYC and L.A., brings out the best in a campaign with her comedic relatability and human touch. Celebs she’s worked with include Dakota Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya and Paul Rudd….
Also joining the TDN roster are Karla and Maria Jose Noriega Pedroza, otherwise known as The Lucky Twins, whose ad work includes Facebook, Puma, Intuit and many more fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. Born and raised in Mexico and based in Miami, The Lucky Twins have made a name for themselves for the dreamy aesthetic and cutting edge, LGBTQ-conscious perspective….
Former Lyft and Old Navy marketer Sara Lezama has joined brand and marketing consultancy TwentyFirstCenturyBrand (21CB) as associate partner. Lezama will drive the growth of the consultancy’s business, team and client portfolio in the U.S. while fostering its culture in the San Francisco office. She will report directly to global managing director Colin Chow. Lezama brings extensive expertise in brand building across retail, tech, and consumer goods to 21CB which has among its clients Pinterest, Headspace, Bumble, Peloton, Gemini, LinkedIn, Mars Inc, Walmart, NextDoor, Instacart, Depop and VanMoof. Most recently, Lezama served as director of integrated marketing at Old Navy where she developed and launched the brand’s Imagine Mission initiative aimed at bolstering its goal to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future. Prior to this role, Lezama was a creative strategist at Lyft where she launched several driver, rider, and product campaigns….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More