SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase (NDS) Event provided varied industry perspectives during a trio of afternoon sessions, and then an evening display of up-and-coming filmmaking talent with the debut screening of the 2024 Showcase Reel followed by a Meet the New Directors panel discussion, all held at the DGA Theatre in NYC last month (12/9). Capping the evening was the NDS Event After-party, hosted by The-Artery and Final Cut at the latter’s facility in Chelsea.
In The Director’s Chair With Dawn Porter
Kicking off the proceedings was the annual In The Director’s Chair session, this time featuring Dawn Porter just a week after she received the International Documentary Association’s Career Achievement Award, an honor presented annually to an individual film or video maker who, through a body of work, has made a major and lasting contribution to the documentary form.
That body of work continues to grow and evolve–as evidenced at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival where she had two feature documentaries: Luther: Never Too Much and Power of the Dream.
Luther: Never Too Much, an intimate portrayal of Grammy-winning artist Luther Vandross, was recently released in theaters and will premiere on CNN/MAX on January 1.
Also 2024 brought us Porter’s MSNBC Series, The Sing Sing Chronicles, offering unprecedented access to Sing Sing Correctional Facility, providing a raw look at justice and redemption.
This year Porter also received her third Film Independent Film Spirit Award nomination–for Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court, a four-part Showtime series. Her prior Spirit Award nominations came for the documentary series Philly D.A. in 2022 and Gideon’s Army in 2014.
The founder of Trilogy Films, Porter is known for her storytelling on social justice, history, and on cultural icons. Her other celebrated documentaries–including Trapped, John Lewis: Good Trouble, The Way I See It, and The Lady Bird Diaries, have run on platforms like HBO, Netflix, CNN and PBS. Trapped earned a Peabody Award and the Sundance Special Jury prize for Social Impact Filmmaking while John Lewis: Good Trouble won the 2021 NAACP Image Award. Porter received the Critics’ Choice Impact Award in 2022 and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden.
In 2021, Porter was celebrated at AFI Docs, the American Film Institute’s documentary film festival, as the 2021 Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree. The Guggenheim Symposium honors a master of the nonfiction art form. That year AFI Docs presented Porter’s Rise Again: Tulsa And The Red Summer, a documentary which followed Washington Post journalist DeNeen Brown as her investigation into a mass grave in her home state of Oklahoma led her to delve deeper in the racial violence of the early 20th century. The film came 100 years after the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, during which hundreds of Tulsa’s Black residents were murdered and thousands were displaced.
Beyond long form, Porter is also exploring short-form fare–including commercials and branded content–by coming aboard the roster of Institute, the production company headed by another acclaimed filmmaker, Lauren Greenfield–who was interviewed during the NDS Event’s In The Director’s Chair session a couple of years ago.
Interviewed on stage at the DGA Theatre by SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich, Porter shared insights into her work and career, starting with how she broke in as a documentarian. Porter came from an unlikely background. She was a practicing attorney and at one point began litigating for ABC-TV. It was at ABC News that she gained first-hand exposure to filmmaking, seeing how stories were put together. Suddenly the process wasn’t so mysterious and she saw a fit in documentaries for her skillset. For one, she had extensive experience taking depositions. The art of interviewing and listening to people dovetailed naturally with non-fiction filmmaking as did her organizational skills and deep abiding interest in history and the lessons it holds for us today and in the future. While she had no experience in shooting and editing, Porter reasoned that she could hire and collaborate with artists on those fronts, and from that a career as a documentarian was born.
Porter generally resists appearing or speaking in her documentaries, instead letting “the films kind of speak for themselves.” She explained that a documentary shouldn’t be so “heavy-handed” that viewers all walk away with the same message. Her hope is that people take something meaningful away from her work–something unique to them, to who they are and how they in turn are impacted. That impact can range from intellectual to emotional, even spiritual.
Goldrich cited a couple of such impactful examples residing in different places on the intellectual-emotional continuum. From an emotional standpoint he pointed to Bree Wayy: Promise Witness Remembrance which Porter did for MTV. Bree Wayy explored Breonna Taylor’s legacy from the artwork she inspired. That artwork helped Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, to heal after he daughter’s death. We see how art can serve as a means of protest as well as a way to realize some solace in the midst of grief.
Meanwhile on the intellectual/reportage side of a documentary’s impact, Goldrich pointed to Porter’s Showtime series, Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court. Among the revelations reported was one centered on emergency docket decisions made by the Supreme Court. Deadlocked pointed out that during the tenure of two-term presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, a combined 16 years, there was a total of eight requests for emergency docket decisions, four of which were granted. In sharp contrast, during President Donald Trump’s first four-year term, there were 41 such requests, 28 of which were granted. Because such Supreme Court decisions are rendered on an expedited basis, they carry no written opinions or attribution. We don’t know who voted for the prevailing side and why. The lack of accountability and explanation seems the antithesis of what the Supreme Court is supposed to be–and once was.
Porter provided a big-picture context during the NDS Q&A, relating that the role of the Supreme Court is to take cases so as “to explain to the lower courts of the country how the law is to be interpreted.” But by rendering decisions without opinion, rationale or attribution, “how can you have precedent?” she asked rhetorically. Furthermore, she observed, that this “erodes confidence in the court” in that people don’t even have a decision to read.” Porter said she suspects, as many others do, that expedited emergency decisions–which used to largely be centered on death-row executions–are instead being deployed to “enact political decisions” that aren’t popular but that a President might like to put through without true scrutiny from the public at large. She wondered if these types of emergency decisions will be even more prevalent in Trump’s second term–particularly with his party controlling both houses and the prospect of a Justice Department with fewer career officials.
This example underscores a dynamic that runs through much of Porter’s work. Not only has it withstood the test of time but also in many cases her documentaries have increased in relevance over the years. Porter’s Trapped explored TRAP Laws (Targeted Resolution of Abortion Providers) which regulated abortion clinics in the South. Fast forward to today with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and we find a far greater number of women across many more states being trapped, again particularly those who don’t have the financial means to travel to a state where they can get the care they need.
Similarly Rise Again: Tulsa And The Red Summer takes on even greater significance in that recent years have seen an increase in revisionist history or a push to take the darkest parts of our history out of the classroom–or deny altogether that such events ever happened.
Porter said that documentary filmmaking has become all the more important on several levels, including for its “unique ability to preserve a moment in time.” It’s essential to document what’s happening so that decades from now we can look back at what was and why, perhaps even providing a context for our present and what the future may hold.
As for advice she would give to aspiring directors, particularly women and others from underrepresented backgrounds, Porter said, “You are not an imposter.” She observed that “everyone feels they’re over their head at some time in the process.”
Furthermore dedicated filmmakers can take on any subject matter if they have the right orientation. Porter noted, for example, that she doesn’t believe that someone needs to be Black to make a film about Black society. After all, with that logic, she wouldn’t be qualified to make films about Lady Bird Johnson or Bobby Kennedy (both of which she’s done to great acclaim).
Porter affirmed that a director’s priority is not to gain praise, or to be chosen for a list of 40 promising filmmakers under 40 years of age. While that’s nice, the overriding responsibility of a director is to do “a good job on the film you’ve committed to make.” In that vein, it’s imperative that “you have something to say,” affirmed Porter. Part of that involves having a so-called “animating question” as to why you’re involved and interested in a project. For her miniseries Bobby Kennedy for President, her animating question was: How does a son of privilege who started out interrogating people during the McCarthy era become a civil rights hero? That question helped define her documentary, her approach and decisions throughout the filmmaking process.
Regarding the appeal of commercialmaking/branded content creation and what drew her to Institute, Porter cited her admiration and respect for Greenfield whose production company is committed to opening up advertising to directorial voices spanning women and people from backgrounds underrepresented in filmmaking. Porter in particular cited Greenfield’s “Throw like a girl commercial” for Procter & Gamble which deftly took on gender stereotypes.
As for what’s next for Porter, there are varied projects down the road including a film on Winnie and Nelson Mandela–with the emphasis on Winnie, their marriage and the struggle against apartheid.
In The Director’s Chair with Dawn Porter, founder of Trilogy Films, interviewed by SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich.
Video Source: NDS.SHOOTonline.com | Video Credit: DougGoodman.com
NDS Alumni Discuss the Long and Short of It
SHOOT Showcase alumni–Michael Fiore (class of 2016), Rachel Annette Helson (class of 2019), Jeffrey Morgan (class of 2007) and Romina Schwedler (class of 2014)–shed light on their recent work ranging from a micro-film to feature documentaries that have made their mark on the festival circuit, theatrical and VOD marketplaces. Moderator of this second afternoon session was SHOOT publisher and editorial director Roberta Griefer.
Morgan discussed his documentary Welcome to Jay which recently won the Audience Award for best documentary at the Tallahassee Film Festival. The film has roots in a sense in Morgan’s first documentary, Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence, which earned him a slot in the 2007 NDS.
Morgan first heard about Jay while filming Lillie & Leander, a documentary in which a woman delves into the murder of her great-great aunt at the turn of 1900. During the course of the investigation, the woman stumbles upon an explosive secret that hints at her own family’s involvement in decades of racially charged murders. While filming Lillie & Leander in Escanbia County, Fla., Morgan learned about nearby Jay’s reputation. And that memory was stirred some years later when he read about Gus Benjamin, a Black teen who in 2010 attended a party in Jay–and ended up dead from a gunshot wound in the back. Robert Floyd, a young white man, was arrested and put on trial for second degree murder. Morgan gained permission to gain camera access to the courtroom in order to chronicle the seven-day murder trial in 2011 and went on to gather interviews in Black as well as white communities about the racial history of the area, including a shockingly similar murder that took place in 1922–except the murder victim was white and the alleged murderer was Black.
Morgan navigates a parallel course covering both deaths–nearly 90 years apart–and casts light on Jay’s history and the roots of racial tension. In doing so, Welcome to Jay provides food for thought on race relations throughout the country–and the importance of learning from our history. In the case of Jay, the murder in 1922 led to the exodus of Black families from the town. Census figures had some 175 Black residents in Jay in 1920. Ten years later, there were none. Morgan sought out and connected with descendants of some of those Black families who lived in Jay back in the day. Their family histories started to peel away the layers covering up the racism that took hold in Jay and helped us to understand that the death of Benjamin in 2010 tore off the figurative scab and reopened a wound with a deep, dark past.
Morgan–a Native American and Mexican American–said that the value of telling such stories has arguably grown more significant than ever before. When he started out on Welcome to Jay, he fully knew that the story of both murders was important. But in recent years, there’s been a movement–including in Florida–to sanitize American history in the educational system, making documentaries like Welcome to Jay all the more essential.
Morgan’s background includes some 23 years at Deutsch New York as an agency producer and eventually an EP/director of its in-house production studio Steelhead before he left to direct independently. A couple of years after his 2007 Showcase appearance, the agency turned to Morgan to direct a film about Alzheimer’s caregivers for a Big Pharma client. The non-branded film kicked off his directorial exploits within the Deutsch family.
As for Morgan’s advice to new, aspiring directors. “Get out and make something. Don’t ever wait for someone’s permission.”
Similarly director Helson advised, “Keep doing the work” because “the cavalry is not coming.” Helson described herself in a constant state of self-initiated work–while always being open for hire as a director. She has four feature films under her belt, and is attached to a couple of scripts currently. She gave the SHOOT NDS Event audience a glimpse of her short Good Daughter which qualified for Oscar consideration this year.
The Helson-directed Good Daughter was produced by her husband, Josh Banks, a 2021 SHOOT NDS alum. Currently in development is a feature film based on Good Daughter, which introduces us to a small-time con artist who rips off elderly dementia patients by pretending to be their daughter–until the con catches up with her.
Director Schwedler too has made her mark on the festival circuit. Her comedy short, Now You See Us, billed as a “coming-of-certain-age story,” is nearing the end of an extended festival run. It premiered at the Chelsea Film Festival where it won a jury award. Schwedler shared an excerpt from Now You See Us as well as her micro-short titled Evolution which questions the meaning of that word when it comes to the human race and its time in the universe.
Evolution was inspired by and during the pandemic when Schwedler harbored the hope that if things ever returned to normal, we would all be a little wiser, kinder, respectful of Mother Earth and others. Though that idyllic scenario didn’t emerge in reality, Evolution did.
Schwedler’s festival pedigree started to emerge after her NDS selection in 2014, perhaps most notably with her psychological drama short titled The Visit for which she secured Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb. The Visit was screened at some 50 film festivals and garnered 14 awards on that circuit.
Fiore meanwhile gave NDS event attendees a taste off Veselka: The Rainbow On The Corner At The Center of the World, a feature documentary which he wrote and directed. It tells the story of NYC’s beloved Ukrainian restaurant Veselka and its father and son proprietors, Tom and Jason Birchard. When Jason graduated college without a vision for his future, Tom brings him into the family business. Jason learns that Tom’s dedication to Veselka produces delicious food that satisfies a colorful cast of neighbors and newcomers, but this leaves little time for Tom to be “dad” at work. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, Jason takes ownership of Veselka from his reluctant-to-retire father. He has large shoes to fill, but Jason’s biggest challenge becomes the war in Ukraine. He is unexpectedly thrust into the role of surrogate father to support his Ukrainian staff impacted by the war. Jason must explore his past working relationship with his own dad to “feed” his war-torn team as he keeps his business afloat.
Veselka has become a hub of support for Ukraine during the ongoing war. And that is fitting given the restaurant’s roots, started in 1954 by Jason’s grandfather who fled Russian oppression in Ukraine to make a new life in America.
Narrated by Golden Globe Winner and Little Ukraine NYC native David Duchovny, Veselka: The Rainbow On The Corner At The Center Of The World is a thoughtful exploration and celebration of family and community, chronicling Jason’s journey to connect with his loving yet detail-focused dad as he reignites his grandfather’s advocacy for Ukraine.
CNN’s Dan Heching recently selected Veselka as one of the must-see documentaries of 2024. Fiore has charted a hands-on distribution strategy for the film which has enjoyed a successful theater run. He also secured Gravitas for VOD distribution and hopes to have major streaming platform exposure starting in February.
Fiore noted that fellow panelist Morgan was the one who turned him onto the SHOOT NDS Showcase originally–and the two have kept in touch ever since. Having seen Morgan make a Showcase splash, Fiore eventually did the same in 2016 with Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, a documentary which told the story of Norman, the first African-American animator at Disney.
As for what’s next, Fiore said he has in the offing “an unofficial sequel” to a notable Netflix documentary that came out a year or two ago.
NDS Alumni Discuss the Long and Short of It moderated HOOT publisher & editorial director Roberta Griefer.
Video Source: NDS.SHOOTonline.com | Video Credit: DougGoodman.com
Attaining Content-ment
SHOOT’s Goldrich moderated this third afternoon discussion, Attaining Content-ment, which featured panelists Ryan Chong, EVP and head of production at Le Truc, and Vico Sharabani, founder and executive creative director at The-Artery, who shared insights into their recent artificial intelligence projects, providing their biggest takeaways and lessons learned from the experience. And on hand to offer a legal perspective on AI creation and production was attorney Jeffrey A. Greenbaum, managing partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz (FKKS).
Chong talked about a Publicis project that began nearly two years ago–the creation of 100,000 videos personalized at scale, generated and deployed in real time. This holiday thank you card was to go out to each company worker, tailor-made to the individual recipient. Le Truc, a creative collective within the Publicis Groupe family, took the lead on the ambitious AI initiative which seemed at the outset like a pipe dream but wound up coming to fruition.
Among the prime lessons learned along that project’s journey, shared Chong, was that AI is “a fantastic enhancer of creative capabilities and potential.” At the same time, though, AI is “absolutely not a substitute for the creative integrity of making” for “a discerning eye for detail.”
Le Truc’s business model, contended Chong, is conducive to mining the potential of AI and other breakthrough technologies. Described as “a creative collective,” Le Truc, said Chong, is “an unusual model inside a communications holding company,” more akin to a co-op, a major departure from the traditional pyramid hierarchy. Le Truc has four chief creative officers and three chief strategy officers, underscoring a thoughtful balance between creative and strategy. Le Truc sits at the center of the Publicis Groupe, stretching out and partnering with all the agencies in that family. Chong called Le Truc “a super-charger to those agencies and their clients.” Le Truc passes on to them its exploration and utilization of tech, “true to our sense of experimentation.” The Le Truc creative/strategic team and resources will look very different every time they dovetail with a Publicis shop, specially structured to meet the needs of the project or challenge at hand. Le Truc, he explained, is designed to give creative access to Publicis shops so that they can participate and experiment with tools and products.
Chong went on to say that even with the constant incredible innovation driving AI, it is a far cry “from being a replacement for a beautifully considered and thought-out story” that properly connects with an audience. AI can help speed up storyboard generation, can contribute to articulating an idea in different ways, perhaps mock up concepts for clients so that they get a better handle on the gist of what the creatives envision. AI, continued Chong, can be used to “help establish the world and the perspective of the world we’re trying to build before we are going to make it….AI can be a helpful piece for us.” But the bottom line is that AI cannot fill in for the creative relationship with a filmmaker. AI, affirmed Chong, “doesn’t replace creative individualism” and the importance of the director.
Meanwhile Sharabani noted that The-Artery logo surrounds the word “art” for a reason, as reflected in the very diverse fare the company has turned out this year, including a commercial that won the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix, and visual effects for two feature films up for Best Picture at the Golden Globes–Nickel Boys and A Real Pain. The-Artery is very much a vertically integrated studio, with a plan that calls for building a slate of feature films in 2025. Sharabani screened for the NDS session audience an AI trailer for a proposed feature.
“In each one of our verticals, we’re using AI,” said Sharabani, citing a United Nations global campaign that The-Artery delivered in assorted languages as an example.
Sharabani firmly believes that The-Artery has a responsibility to delve into the capabilities of AI and its related opportunities. At the same time, he realizes that AI opens up many uncertainties. There’s the potential for a societal crisis if many people lose their jobs. There could also be an energy crisis because of the way in which AI uses and depletes energy. This calls for proceeding with caution and humility. He observed that most people end up “humbled” when they predict the future in that “most of us will be wrong.”
Attorney Greenbaum said that the initial “Wild West” dynamic–during which those engaged in AI didn’t feel any restrictions–has started to give way to a new reality over the past year or so. A more specific framework in which to operate is starting to develop, he related, noting that California and Tennessee have placed certain legal restrictions on use of talent in connection with AI projects. And, of course, AI is a hot-button issue for unions as reflected in SAG-AFTRA’s theatrical and TV contract. Furthermore, continued Greenbaum, the current commercials contract is set to expire in March, with AI figuring to be a pivotal issue. What comes out of negotiations regarding that issue could have a profound impact on commercialmaking moving forward.
On a separate front, also meriting consideration in the advertising arena relative to AI are product demonstrations, pointed out Greenbaum. The law requires that product demos be real, containing actual footage of the product performing. And such a demo must reflect the performance that can typically be expected from that product. Where does that leave an AI-generated commercial or film that shows a car driving up a rocky road? Can a car be created digitally and still properly reflect real-world performance so as not to mislead consumers? Again, this underscores all that has to be considered up front before embarking on an AI production.
Attaining Content-ment moderated by SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich.
Video Source: NDS.SHOOTonline.com | Video Credit: DougGoodman.com
New Directors Showcase
The evening proceedings began with a welcome from DGA business rep Michael Mintz and SHOOT’s Griefer, followed by the debut screening of the 2024 NDS Reel.
Mintz told the Showcase directors that they are not alone, that the DGA is there to protect them as artists, to protect their creative rights and the future of all Guild members. “You focus on the your work. We focus on your rights.”
After the screening, Griefer asked the NDS directors in the audience to stand up, introducing them to the gathering. She then moderated the Meet the New Directors panel discussion which included three of the up-and-coming directors: Chris Cole, Thavary Krouch and Shahriar Rahman, all currently unaffiliated with a production company. Rounding out the panel were two industry professionals: Kate Oppenheim, managing partner, m ss ng p eces, and executive VP, Tribeca Studios; and Dave Rolfe, global head of production, WPP/Hogarth.
Rahman earned his Showcase slot for Blue Yonder, a short film that tapped into his extensive experience as a visual effects artist. The short entailed the creation of octopus tentacles, a most complicated proposition in computer graphics, noted Rahman. But just as important as that was to the story, Blue Yonder contained a host of other “invisible” effects–meshed with live action–as the short serves as a metaphor for a romantic relationship. Fittingly he described Blue Yonder as “a labor of love,” made over several years as Rahman attained the matrix simulations necessary to create the tentacle effects–akin to a caressing embrace–so that this otherworldly underwater story is grounded in reality and becomes relatable to viewers.
Krouch scored Showcase inclusion with the short film Arrangements. Coming out of the pandemic, Krouch was eager to lean into comedy, wanting to bring some lightness and laughter to her work and to audiences–which led to her writing and directing Arrangements, a comedy with a human relations undercurrent. The film tells the story of two cousins with a sister-like bond who find themselves growing apart. Life has led them in different directions–one pursuing new opportunities while the other feels left behind. Their rift surfaces while taking a flower arranging class, the tension between them bubbling over but with a screwball comedy bent.
Krouch considers herself “a Midwestern girl,” having spent most of her adult life in Chicago where she served for a stretch in the government sector–at the Chicago Film office, assisting with film permitting while also managing programming at the Chicago Cultural Center. She has since moved to New York, adjusting to life in that market, furthering her directorial aspirations while also continuing to work in film and media industry support with a position at the NYC Film Office, part of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Meanwhile Cole’s Showcase piece, the short film Terminally Ill, is a hybrid hip-hop/comedy piece. It’s about a guy who visits his grandmother’s deathbed and discovers that if he raps his last words to her, she’ll stay alive. It evolves into an absurdist musical comedy, taking some surprise turns along the way. Terminally Ill has proven quite healthy on the festival circuit, winning the Oscar-qualifying Jury Award for Comedy at Aspen Shortsfest as well as a Silver Young Director Award for Creative use of Sound.
Cole brings soup-to-nuts production expertise to his filmmaking, having served as a producer at Apple in Northern California. He said that his Apple tour of duty informed him as a director. Cole noted that the attention to detail and level of craft in Terminally Ill wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t gained such valuable experience at Apple.
Oppenheim and Rolfe had praise for the SHOOT NDS Showcase Reel. Oppenheim said it was “a joy to watch.” Rolfe described the work as “original and so unique.” He observed that while a number of directors are early on in their careers, they are at the same time “so experienced” as evidenced by the quality of their entries. Rolfe affirmed that he can’t wait to see “the body of work ahead of you.”
Oppenheim noted that she is always looking for new talent, directors who bring a voice to the work that no one else could bring to it. And these directors in turn can bring that voice to an agency and/or a brand, to help them connect with an audience in a personal way.
Asked if directors should stay independent for creative freedom or seek a rostered slot with a production company, Oppenheim said it depends on circumstances, the stage of a filmmaker’s career, and if the right match with a production house can be found. She noted that when a director is building a reel, the freedom to take on every opportunity that comes your way as a freelance talent can be advantageous. On the flip side, though, the benefits of connecting with the right production company are numerous, including being surrounded by a supportive team, having people pitching, producing and selling for you, getting your paths to cross with the right creatives, agencies and brands. There’s considerable value in “finding a production family and people who believe in you”….and “who will sell you to people like Dave [Rolfe},” she said. “Is your executive producer going to make those calls on your behalf?”
Rolfe–who is always on the lookout for promising freelance as well as rostered talent–stressed that the expertise and talent management acumen at a production company can prove invaluable, noting that directors have to be aggressive and smart in “relationship development.” While it may be obvious that being aggressive is vital as a freelancer, it remains vital when rostered at a company too.
Part of that desired assertiveness, observed Oppenheim, calls for a director to “keep making personal projects” even when on a production company roster. Honing one’s storytelling, showing and expanding upon what you can do is part of proactive career development. She added that building a career in the U.S. market is a full-time job. Being a viable commercial director is “not a side job.”
Rolfe has repeatedly seen directorial talent evolve over time first-hand, including SHOOT New Directors Showcase alumni–a prime example being Lawrence Chan who was an in-house director at BBDO NY when Rolfe was at that agency. Chen gained inclusion into SHOOT’s 2012 New Director Showcase. He has since joined the roster of Stink Films and over the years has seen his work gain recognition at the Cannes Lions, Clios, The One Show and the ANDY Awards.
DGA and SHOOT NDS2024 Welcome Remarks
DGA’s Michael Mintz welcome remarks & SHOOT’s Roberta Griefer introduction to the NDS 2024 Reel Screening.
Video Source: NDS.SHOOTonline.com | Video Credit: DougGoodman.com
Meet Some Talent from The NDS Class Of 2024 moderated by SHOOT publisher and editorial director Roberta Griefer
Video Source: NDS.SHOOTonline.com | Video Credit: DougGoodman.com
SHOOT’s 22nd Annual New Directors Showcase offers a total of 30 up-and-coming directors. The field includes 25 directors–21 individuals and a pair of duos–who are unaffiliated with a production company.
In addition to Cole, Krouch and Rahman, the unaffiliated crop of up-and-coming filmmaking talent consists of Lanre Danmola, Ava Himmel, Reece Daniels, Lauren Maya Davis, Giuseppe De Lauri, Louise de Nexon, Duncan Heger, Elizabeth Katz, Brian Lawes, Mitchell Lazar, Pamela M. Carbonero, Derek Nguyen, Vanessa Pla, Sophia Prestwich, Igor Raevskii, Annalee Walton, Dennis Williams, and Jackie! Zhou–as well as two helming duos, the Potter Sisters (Grace & Emily Potter), and scout (Lindsay Sunada & Jensen Vinca),
Five Showcase directors have production company affiliations: Jason Blanc of Diamond View; India Donaldson of Tinygiant; Raghav Rampal of Collider; Alison Rich of Imposter; and Severine Reisp of Cutter Entertainment.
- Click here to view the SHOOT 2024 New Directors Showcase Reel.
- Click here for profiles/contact info on all of the directors in the 2024 New Directors Showcase.
- Click here for 2024 NDS Event and After-party photos.
Sponsor support
Lead sponsors of the 2024 SHOOT New Directors Showcase were the DGA and harvest films. Silver sponsors were The-Artery and FKKS. Bronze sponsor was Universal Production Services. Additional supporters were charlieuniformtango, Commercial Directing Film School, True Gent and Final Cut.
