Johan Stahl of production house REVERSE directed this marquee trailer–titled “Play: The Power of Ideas”–for the upcoming Newport Beach Film Festival out of WPP agency Garage Team Mazda.
The promotional film features a boy who is caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce. In an effort to escape, he retreats into the comfort of his imagination. What the lad doesn’t realize is the power that his ideas have on the world.
“By grounding the story in an easily relatable reality–a classic divorce scenario with familiar tropes and gender roles — it sets the viewer up to quickly see the disparity between the parents’ world and the boy’s world, and ultimately, express central themes around imagination, cinematic storytelling, and the theme of this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival: ‘The Power of Ideas,’” said director Stahl.
“Our goal is always to make a promotional film as compelling as the films accepted into this intensely selective festival,” said Melissa Webber, Garage Team Mazda creative director.
CreditsClient Newport Beach Film Festival Agency Garage Team Mazda Erich Funke, chief creative officer; Melissa Webber, SVP, creative director/writer; Daniel Bremmer, creative director/writer; Larry Struber, SVP, director integrated content; Jessica Mirolla, art producer. Production REVERSE Johan Stahl, director; Thibaut Estellon, exec producer/founder; Larry Gold, Luigi Rossi, producers; Shelly Johnson, ASC, DP; Michelle Thompson, costume designer; Nora Takacs, production designer; Michael Martino, 1st asst. camera; Melissa Gwizdowski, hair/makeup; Marcel Banks, FX makeup; Chuck Henrey, 1st assistant director; Gus Bechtold, 2nd assistant director/2nd asst. camera; Zac Knight, special effects; Porcelain Brisbon, production manager; Matthew Cheaton, production coordinator. Editorial jumP Editorial Erwin Frraterman, editor; Therese Hunsberger, exec producer; Natasha Sattler, producer; Roy Herbert, assistant editor; Thom Reimerink, Flame artist. VFX Ingenuity Grant Miller, David Lebensfeld, VFX supervisors; Kieley Culbertson, sr. producer; Brigitte Stanovick, Kymberly Murphy, VFX producers; Robert Cohen, VFX coordinator; Ashley Nizich, compositing coordinator; Zhe Chong, compositing supervisor; Ben Stommes, Patrick Louie, Krisztian Csanki, compositors; Anna Harari, CG coordinator; Paul Baran, Kevin Pinga, FX; Lucas Smarker, animations; Viviana Torrellas, layout. Color Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, sr. colorist; Ashley McKim, exec producer; Katie Andrews, Matt Moran, sr. producers. Audio Post Juice Studios Scott Burns, mixer; Vanessa Carey, producer. Music/Sound Yessian Music & Sound Design David Gold, exec producer; Brian Yessian, chief creative officer/partner. Casting Face In The Crowd Casting Maryclaire Sweeters, casting director.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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