Cleveland-based independent agency Marcus Thomas LLC has promoted Jamie Venorsky to chief creative officer, a new position at the shop. He reports to chief idea officer Joanne Kim who leads creative innovation for the agency. Venorsky joined Marcus Thomas in 1999 as an art director and most recently served as executive creative director. Venorsky has been responsible for leading the daily operations of the creative team and elevating the creative product across the agency for accounts including KraftMaid, Troy-Bilt, Ohio Lottery, Behr and KeyBank. His special talent for bringing a variety of marketing and communication disciplines together to address client challenges has resulted in numerous awards including ADDYs, One Show, AME, Webby, Communication Arts, Effie Shortlist and Content Marketing Awards. Additionally, Marcus Thomas has upped creative directors Jim Sollisch and Stephanie Burris to co-executive creative directors….
COMPULSORY has added photographer and filmmaker Filmawi to its directorial roster. The former agency creative joins the production company for U.K. representation in commercials, music videos and creative direction. Filmawi is an accomplished photographer with a portfolio that boasts clients in both advertising and music. He has photographed such artists as Chance the Rapper, Stormzy, Dizzee Rascal, Pusha T, J Hus, and Slowthai. His talent for directing has been recognized by numerous awards in the advertising and creative industries. His short films Rebirth and Tragedy were awarded D&AD New Blood Awards in 2016. Commercially, Filmawi’s experience spans across both the production and agency sides of the industry. One of his first projects, “Open Cinema,” was awarded the prestigious AdCan award in 2014. Following early success, Filmawi then chose to work on the agency side in order to further develop his craft for brands. Working as an art director at AMV BBDO, he helmed projects for Pepsi, Dewar’s, National Lottery, and Smart Energy…..
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