Production affiliations: US - Chelsea Picture / UK - Joy Pictures
Years directing: 11
Shoot days in 2001: 35
Age: "Old enough to be very wise and young enough to run a marathon."
Geography: Iranian-born, based in New York
Favorite project: Shooting Harvey Keitel in "Coliseum" for Johnnie Walker's Keep Walking campaign, BBH, London

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"It was a profound, poignant film, even though the subject matter was a little thin." That's Mehdi Norowzian describing one of his favorite projects: a powerful Johnnie Walker spot in which Harvey Keitel describes conquering stage fright while facing off an imaginary pack of lions in the Roman Coliseum.

The statement sums up his approach to commercial directing perfectly. Norowzian shoots big, bold and dramatic. Never gratuitously, never without real emotion.

"I'm attracted to the stuff that allows me to be a bit lyrical. It's what I call, without sounding pretentious, the power of visual poetry."

Hence the vivid imagery. A lone schoolboy lies among a vast grid of books fluttering open to the wind. Behind a curtain, an endless field of flowers bloom. Man and beast face off on a desert landscape. A classroom of boys release toy propellers into the air at the same time.

Four recent McCann-Erickson New York spots for Microsoft speak volumes for Norowzian's style. He used a split-screen technique to pull focus on the human situation without losing the commercial message.

In "Red," an anxious man looks to his uptight wife for silent cues while choosing a color for their new car. Mechanical paint sprayers switch colors at the touch of a button in the next panel.

In "Vintage" a forklift slip-up sets off a cascade of crashing wine racks to the dismay of an aristocratic wine seller who updates the inventory, doubling the price for a distant clerk doing inventory on the right frame. Detailed art direction and talented actors complete the package.

Norowzian began making short films of his art happenings in the early 1980s and later studied film at London's Royal College of Art. He founded Joy Films in 1994. His short film, Killing Joe was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.

Norowzian completed a seven-week shoot for his first feature film in March, tentatively titled Leo Bloom. The film tells the story of a character derived from Joyce's Ulysses over three decades.

"It's about this kid and his mother and the mistakes people make and how it affects their lives forever. It's a little tragic story, but very human, very touching."

"Very Mehdi," as Norowzian would say.

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