By Millie Takaki
VENICE, Calif.—British director Rob Sanders has joined Seed, a Backyard Productions’ company in Venice, for representation in North America. Sanders brings an award-winning pedigree to his new roost, perhaps most notably for the spot "Litany," promoting The Independent, a British newspaper, for agency Lowe Howard-Spink (now Lowe), London.
Done while he was at London production house Helen Langridge Associates (HLA), "Litany" won both the Grand Prix and the Journalists’ Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 1999. "Litany" became famous not only for its spot artistry, but also for conveying a message about people rejecting mainstream authority and opting for the freedom to make up their own minds.
The commercial consisted of a montage of grainy black-and-white images, which relate a series of instructions such as "Don’t touch. Don’t be fat. Don’t be thin. Don’t stand out. Don’t drop out…" The ad concluded with a shot of a man reading a newspaper, to which the voiceover says, "Don’t read."
Sanders’ work has also scored numerous other awards, including a Silver Clio in ’01 for an HLA-produced Volkswagen Golf spot, "4 Motion," out of DDB, Paris. The director has come to be known for his big picture/visual storytelling. His credits include work for such clients as American Airlines, adidas, Virgin Trains, Guinness, Kodak, Audi and Blockbuster.
Currently, Sanders works in Europe via London-based Amarillo Films, a shop he launched with partner/producer Tom Shard. The director will split his time between the U.S. and Europe, coming stateside as needed for Seed projects. Seed is the first U.S. spot roost Sanders has had in some time; several years back, he was repped by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Storm.
Sanders first gained recognition with three short films, Bacon, Drowning Silence and Post Mortem. Showcasing a dark and mysterious directorial style, the four-minute films generated audience attention and interest from the advertising community, leading to his linking with HLA.
Seed’s directorial roster now consists of Sanders and Michael Chaves. The company is repped by Chris Zander and Lauren Bleiweiss at Zander Reps on the East Coast, by Jim Waldron and associate Wendy Hanson of Them Reps in the Midwest, and by Astrid Steele on the West Coast.
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