As final preparations are being made for SHOOT’s 14th annual New Directors Showcase (NDS) set for next Thursday (5/26) at the DGA Theatre in NYC, I hearken back to some of the significant talent recognized at the event over the years. Among the many who made an impression is Elliott Lester who gained inclusion in our second Showcase back in 2004. Lester has gone on to an accomplished career spanning features, commercials and TV. On the latter front, his most poignant splash to date came in 2015 with HBO’s Nightingale starring David Oyelowo as Peter Snowden, an emotionally damaged war vet whose life unravels before us.
Also in 2004 James Rouse made his mark in the Showcase with a web campaign for Trojan condoms in which carnal gymnastics took on Olympian proportions. Fast forward to today and Rouse is with The Corner Shop. Among his credits is Harvey Nichols’ “Sorry I Spent it on Myself” for adam&eve DDB, London, which won the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix in 2014.
In 2005 Joseph Kosinski earned inclusion into our third annual NDS. He has gone onto a career spanning multiple disciplines with a filmography that includes Oblivion starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Kosinski is now with Reset, the production company launched by David Fincher and Dave Morrison.
That same 2005 NDS additionally included director David Gray. Two years later, Gray was a DGA nominee for Best Commercial Director of 2006. Gray recently joined production house Skunk.
Earning a slot in the 2006 New Directors Showcase was the Terri Timely duo (Corey Creasey and Ian Kibbey), now with Park Pictures. Terri Timely directed Geico’s “Unskippable: Family” breakthrough pre-roll ad which last year garnered The Martin Agency its first ever Cannes Grand Prix honor.
In 2010, Ross Katz won the DGA Award for outstanding achievement in movies for TV on the strength of HBO’s Taking Chance, the same film which garnered him inclusion in SHOOT’s ‘09 NDS.
Next week we hope to continue building on the NDS legacy. And in that vein, check out this week’s special "Voice of Experience" column in which NDS alumni—directors Varda Bar-Kar, J.C. Khoury and Evan Silver—offer their career advice to the next generation of up-and-coming talent.
