Writer-director Ezra J. Stanley, an alum of SHOOT’s 2010 New Directors Showcase, has teamed with producer Michael Axtell to win the Best Commercial Award at the 2016 HollyShorts Film Festival for Toymail’s “Pancakes.” This marks the second time Stanley has earned the HollyShorts honor; back in 2011 his Levi’s “Post-Mortem” topped the commercial category at the HollyShorts competition.
In “Pancakes,” a genius boy uses his cutting edge stuffed Toymail animal to respectfully tell his father how to make a better breakfast. Toymail is a new plush version tech toy that allows children to text and communicate without using a screen. The recorded voice goes to the stuffed animal and the voice goes to the guardian’s phone. They then can respond back to the app, and the voice is reinterpreted in the character of the toy.
“Pancakes” made its world premiere at HollyShorts.
With the momentum of his recent HollyShorts win, Stanley is in the market for a commercial production house affiliation while he currently continues to maintain his own AboveGrey Pictures.