SHOOT debuted its 13th Annual New Directors Showcase reel at the DGA Theatre in New York City last Thursday (5/21), followed by a panel discussion moderated by SHOOT publisher and editorial director Roberta Griefer featuring five of the up-and-coming filmmakers as well as feedback and advice from Lisa Mehling, partner/executive producer at Chelsea, and Bennett McCarroll, EVP, director of broadcast production at Grey New York.
The 2015 New Directors Showcase consisted of 36 directors–30 individual helmers and three directorial duos. Kicking off the proceedings was Russ Hollander, associate national executive director/Eastern executive director of the DGA. Hollander introduced Griefer to the audience and referred to the talent at the New Directors Showcase as representing the future of the industry. He noted that the DGA and AICP negotiated a commercials contract which includes a diversity initiative scheduled to get underway in 2016 to create more opportunities for women and minority directors.
Griefer then introed the debut screening of the 2015 SHOOT New Directors Showcase reel, which contained a sampling of work from each Showcase filmmaker. After the reel presentation, SHOOT held a panel discussion in which five of the directors were participants: Bianca Giaever of m ssng p eces; Michael Marantz of Persuade; Duncan Wolfe of ONE at Optimus; and a pair of directors who are as yet unaffiliated with a production company–Joseph Pernice; and Elen Santana.
Santana earned inclusion in part for her short film Blame. While looking to take on commercials and branded content because she’s drawn to the challenge of storytelling within a short format, Santana noted that she has also been active in feature filmmaking. She directed the feature Orange and has in development a film based on a true story centered on the adversity faced by a transgender who moves to the U.S. for sex change surgery. Though she aspires to take on a wide range of genres, Santana acknowledged that she often gravitates to dramatic stories involving social issues.
Pernice was selected for the Showcase primarily on the strength of his feature film Chasing Yesterday, which has been well received on the festival circuit. He is in development on another feature, The King of Knickerbocker Village, and noted that he has benefited from the invaluable learning experience of having been a staffer in the development department at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Productions. Pernice also currently works at Deutsch NY where he produces projects and has the chance to direct select assignments in-house.
Marantz garnered Showcase recognition for The Conditioned, a piece of branded content for Facebook. His latest project is The Cycle, a short narrative film about an NYPD officer who shoots and kills an unarmed youth, and seeks redemption for his action. Marantz wrapped production on The Cycle on August 8, 2014. A day later, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white police officer. The social outcry, controversy and debate over the Ferguson shooting prompted Marantz to revise his film, which he envisions as hopefully serving as a means to foster communication between local communities and the police.
Giaever made the Showcase cut in part for This American Life’s “Videos 4U: I Love” webisode. She began her media career in public radio and continues to be active in that arena. She has been deeply involved in combining radio and video, sharing that her modus operandi is often to make a radio story and turn it into a film.
Wolfe gained his Showcase slot for “The Art of Listening,” a piece of branded content for the Lincoln Motor Company. He is slated to embark on another project for Lincoln and shared that he recently returned from Kenya where he shot a project for Amazon Kindle, underscoring the power of that technology–particularly in a place where books are scarce. The work introduces us to World Reader, a nonprofit distributing Kindle devices to schools in need.
Most of the Showcase directors were in attendance at the DGA Theatre. The other directors in the 2015 Showcase are: Kamell Allaway who is unaffiliated; Marcus Armitage of Film Club London; Jonathan Augustavo of SKUNK; Jonathan Barenboim who’s unaffiliated; Robert Bianco, also unaffiliated; Stash Capar of Spy Films; Alexander Engel of Greencard Pictures; the Freise Brothers of Biscuit Filmworks; Assal Ghawami who’s unaffiliated; Christian Sorensen Hansen of Society; Zachary Heinzerling of Epoch Films; Anne Hollowday who’s unaffiliated; Mai Iskander of goodstory films; Claire Jantzen of Adolescent Content; Bennett Johnson who’s unaffiliated; David Johnston of jumP; Erin Li who’s unaffiliated; Ed McCulloch of Fancy Content (U.S.) and Holiday Films (Canada); Patrick Muhlberger who’s unaffiliated; Zeke O’Donnell of Fluid Editorial; the Perez Brothers who are unaffiliated; Jefferson Stein of 3008 Productions; Paul Thomas of Seed Media; Hughes William Thompson of The Colony; Stephen Vitale who’s unaffiliated; Jack Whiteley of Rattling Stick; The Wolf Brothers who are unaffiliated; and Ally Zonsius who’s unaffiliated.
Pro insights
While acknowledging that the marketplace has a glut of directors, Chelsea’s Mehling still sounded a note of optimism, noting “there is always room for a great new voice.” Talent that can tell a story, engage viewers, and make an impression still “shines through” in the marketplace.
McCarroll noted that he made a happy discovery at Chelsea, working with director Nadav Kandar on a successful Gillette project. This later translated into Grey entrusting Kandar with a poignant No More (nomore.org) PSA which ran on this year’s Super Bowl, part of the NFL’s campaign to address domestic violence and sexual assault. The commercial was inspired by a real domestic violence call—one in which the 9/11 operator has to read between the lines to recognize that an apparent pizza delivery order is instead a woman’s desperate cry for help.
McCarroll noted that while he doesn’t have the opportunity to screen work as much as he used to, his department at Grey has 60 producers with each realizing that a new directorial talent is a special find. He said that there are opportunities for new talent on jobs that established top tier directors often pass on—more modestly budgeted fare, pro bono work, small content jobs.
McCarroll added that going through the treatment process, he can often see a new director’s sense of passion, which can make a strong impression. McCarroll said he likes to see young directors with the courage and conviction to have a strong POV—even if it turns out to be not necessarily right for a project. He said he prefers that rather than just seeing “a rewrite of what I sent them.” At the same time, a director needs to be open to reconsidering his or her approach once gaining agency feedback, showing the ability to work as a team with the creatives.
And while aspiring directors understandably look to gain a production company affiliation, McCarroll observed that it might be worthwhile for them to consider opportunities on the agency side of the business. He said that Grey has four or five directors on staff and that in-house work volume is significant. McCarroll noted that fellow panelist, director Pernice, works at Deutsch NY as a producer who directs select projects in-house, and that opportunities are opening up for this brand of staff talent.
Griefer asked Mehling about how Chelsea connected with director Lauren Greenfield whose star continues to rise, most notably with her earning a DGA Award nomination this year on the strength of her #LikeAGirl viral video, the centerpiece of a campaign for P&G brand Always out of Leo Burnett. Earning a staggering 4.5 billion online impressions worldwide, the #LikeAGirl video has taken the negative “LikeAGirl” stereotype (you run “like a girl,” throw “like a girl”) and turned it into an empowering movement celebrating the strength and willpower embodied in doing things “like a girl.”
Mehling recalled that she first became interested in Greenfield years ago before Greenfield was a director. At that time, Greenfield had made a name for herself as a photographer and Mehling was favorably impressed by her book “Fast Forward” which explored Los Angeles’ youth culture and its influence on society. Mehling then saw Greenfield speak at a small lecture series and was taken by her intelligence and artistic sensibilities. Through a mutual friend, Mehling sent a feeler out to Greenfield, asking if she would consider directing via Chelsea. Her response was no in that she had so much already on her plate.
Fast forward four years to the Sundance Film Festival where Mehling saw Greenfield’s documentary titled Thin, introducing us to four young women dealing with eating disorders. “The film was amazing,” assessed Mehling, citing how it reflected the director’s passion for people and storytelling. Mehling recalled she immediately felt, “We have to sign her.” And shortly thereafter, Chelsea did just that.
An afterparty, downstairs at the DGA Theatre, followed the New Directors Showcase screening and panel discussion. This evening event came on the heels of SHOOT’s Directors/Producers Forum held that same afternoon at the DGA venue. Look for coverage later this week online and in the May 29 SHOOT>e.dition of the May 21 SHOOT Directors/Producers Forum. The afternoon sessions included “The Democratization of Directing” panel led by harvest films’ Bonnie Goldfarb; “4K and Beyond” with Daryn Okada, ASC; an onstage interview with director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year) by SHOOT editor, Bob Goldrich; and a presentation on “Native Advertising” by FKKS managing partner Jeffrey Greenbaum.
Lead sponsors of the 2015 SHOOT Directors/Producers Forum and New Directors Showcase were harvest films, ONE at Optimus, Sony Electronics and the DGA. Silver sponsors were Company 3 and entertainment & advertising law firm Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz (FKKS). Bronze sponsors were GARTNER and Palace Production Center.
SHOOT’s Griefer made a special point both before the Forum panels kicked off and in the evening before the New Directors Showcase screening to thank this lineup of sponsors for making the event possible, citing each sponsor and key executives. She also gave special thanks to Company 3 for hosting a breakfast and color correction workshop for Showcase directors that morning prior to the start of the Forum and to Palace Production Center for their help in compiling the Showcase Reel.
