What do commercial directors do when not shooting spots? If they’re on the Superlounge roster, they make films that hit the festival circuit. This month alone, two of the company’s directors have films screening in festivals: I AM ROAD COMIC, the follow-up to Jordan Brady’s cult-favorite stand-up documentary I AM COMIC, will have its world premiere April 30 at the Montclair Film Festival (MFF). Meanwhile, the dramatic short CARE, from newly signed Superlounge director Brett Wagner will screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs April 24-May 1. Having its West Coast premiere April 25 at Newport is the short film FREE 2 BE ME, which Brady produced alongside his wife, director Jeannette Godoy, who helmed the film about a special group of ballet dancers with Down Syndrome. Though their respites from spotmaking are brief – on the heels of work for Toyota and Qualcomm, Brady is currently shooting a project for Dodge; Wagner recently directed campaigns for Mobi PCS and Hemic – the films allow the Superloungers to explore subjects that are close to their hearts.
With I AM ROAD COMIC, Brady continues a filmmaking journey through the current standup boom that has made him the definitive biographer of the medium's modern era. More than two dozen comics – including Pete Holmes, T.J. Miller, Marc Maron, Doug Benson, Maria Bamford, Judah Friedlander, Jim Norton and Alonzo Bodden – discuss the nuts and bolts of working the road in bars and clubs. Brady’s film also serves as a first-person travelogue, as he embarks on a hell gig in Washington state (co-headlining with Wayne Federman), after twenty years off the road. The director previewed the work-in-progress in New York at THE FRIARS CLUB COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL (FCCFF) on April 4.
Wagner’s CARE, which premiered at Palm Springs, was recently named Best Short Film at the Kansas City Film Festival. CARE also won Best Dramatic Film at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, an honor previously bestowed upon another of Wagner's films, CHIEF. “I first discovered Brett's immense talent and gift for storytelling during an LA Shortsfest screening of CHIEF,” said Brady. “When I saw his arsenal of comedy spots, I knew he could do anything.”
Godoy, a Superlounge alumnus, was inspired to make her film when she met Colleen Perry, former ballet dancer and founder of Free 2 Be Me Dance, an adaptive ballet class for kids with Down syndrome living in Los Angeles. It began as a labor of love by Perry (also a Marriage and Family Therapist). Having always felt an affinity for kids and adults with Down syndrome, Perry found her connection when she read an article about the Boston Ballet's adaptive dance program in conjunction with Children's Hospital Boston. The 30-minute documentary becomes available on DVD and Video On Demand May 20, 2014, with a portion of all proceeds going to Free 2 Be Me Dance. On July 6th, The National Congress on Down Syndrome will screen the film in Indianapolis, IN.
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About Superlounge
Original, wry and sublime, Superlounge features award-winning commercial directors Jordan Brady, Daniel Sheppard, Ben Tedesco, Brett Wagner and directing duo Jacob Slade. Brady is host of the popular podcast RESPECT THE PROCESS, interviewing a wide range of ad bizzers and filmmakers on a weekly basis.
