2. Emil Möller > Sonny, London
3. Chris Sargent > Park Pictures, New York
4. Keith Bearden > Good Films Inc., New York
5. Mike Long > Epoch Films, New York
6. Mattias Montero > Social Club, Stockholm
7. Clay Weiner > Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles
8. Alex Ogus > TWC, Los Angeles
9. * Price James > RSA Films, London
9. * Henry Mason > RSA Films, London
10. BIF > The Mill, London
* - Tie for 9th

Emil Möller > Sonny, London
Just the facts: Age - 30; Hometown - Skavsta, Sweden; Education - TV production, The Swedish School of Television (IHTV), Göteborg; Employ - Sonny, London and FLX Sweden since '07.

Previous Experience: Möller completed "Play Your Own Game", an accomplished spec spot for And1, with favors from local film crews. "It took me one-and-a-half years to accomplish," he says. "I was basically trying to hook up with people during the night - an hour here or there - to get it right." The spot became his calling card to various prodcos.

Influences: "Hearing my kids' [Astrid - 5; Mimi - 2] thoughts. I was driving home and Astrid was staring out in the night. I said, 'What are you thinking of?' She said, 'I was thinking of this air slide where you fasten your seatbelt and slide down until you end up on a train and it takes you away.' It's a really big influence for me to get into their world."

Brothers' Bond: Möller spent three years assisting Sonny head Fredrik Bond, which he credits with his growth as a director. "When I felt like I could bring something to his table, I thought, 'OK, I'm not all wrong here, I have something good to bring to this.'" But that camaraderie isn't without its competitiveness. "I was the first to direct a spot for Sonny [TFL's 'Signs']," teases Möller. "It was me, not Fredrik. I love saying that!"

Sonny London http://www.sonnylondon.com
FLX http://www.flx.se

Chris Sargent > Untitled Films/Park Pictures, Bicoastal
Just the facts: Age - 30; Hometown - Acton, Ontario; Education - media arts at Sheridan College; Employ - signed with Toronto's Untitled in 2006 and Park Pictures in 2007.

Previous Experience: In little more than a year, Sargent has gone from shooting $15,000 videos for Canadian rock bands to a million-dollar Vaseline ad for BBH, New York. He graduated college in 2003 and started his career as a post supervisor for Access in Toronto. Hungry to direct, he joined Untitled's roster and has been DPing and directing steadily ever since.

Best work: Though Sargent promises his best work is yet to come, one of his first spots, WWF "Beautiful Day" from 2006, still resonates today. The ad combines live action and stock footage to depict suburbanites blissfully going about their business amidst a hurricane, forest fire and a flood. A solid, simple idea, it did well on the awards circuit.

Daydreamer: "I have crazy ADD," he says. "If I try and sit in front of After Effects, I literally have to get up and wander around the office." To remedy his post-production problem, Sargent is partnering with VFX/flame artist Steve Mottershead to start a Toronto-based collective aptly called Woolgathering (definition: indulgence in idle daydreaming), which will allow them to do post at their own pace.

Park Pictures http://www.parkpictures.com
Untitled http://www.untitledfilms.ca

Keith Bearden > Good Films Inc., New York
Just the facts: Age - 40; Hometown - Middletown, Connecticut; Education - BA in film and television from Evergreen College, Olympia, WA; Employ - signed to Mr. Hyde in Paris in 2006, then to Good Films.

Previous Experience: Bearden moved into journalism after film school, "interviewing every director and actor that I liked that was still alive. When you get to sit down and spend a day with Jonathan Demme or Werner Herzog, you really learn a lot." Moving into TV writing, he eventually found the time to direct his first short film, The Raftman's Razor in 2005. The film got a rapturous response at Sundance, SXSW and the Clermont-Ferrand festival in France, where he met with Mr. Hyde, signed with them and shot his first spot in '06, an anti-smoking PSA.

Best Work: His "Apartment" spot for appliance company Brandt through DDB, Paris, in which a prospective renter pops into a flat rammed with humanity, was a joy to work on, even if he didn't (and still doesn't) understand French. "If I can make good commercials in a language I don't understand, think of what I could do in English!"

Manifesto: "Everything I do takes place on a planet that's almost identical to ours, but just a little bit different."

Good Films Inc. http://www.goodfilmsinc.com
Mr. Hyde http://www.mrhyde.fr

Mike Long > Epoch Films, New York
Just the facts: Age - 37; Hometown - Sarasota, Florida; Education - BFA in photography and graphic design from Ringling College of Art + Design; Employ - formerly an art director at Saatchi & Saatchi, London and CD at Saatchi & Saatchi, New York; signed with Epoch Films in 2006. Was also an FBA finalist in '06 with one project under his belt, MTV "Beatbox Family".

Previous Experience: Long began his ad career as an art director for Leo Burnett in Chicago, aiming to become a director. After stints in Warsaw and Amsterdam, he landed a gig at Saatchi, London, where he worked on a memorable print campaign for Coco De Mer with Frank Budgen, featuring photographs of people's faces at the moment of orgasm.

Best Work: Whilst at Saatchi, New York, he helped make over retailer JCPenney's stale brand image with a series of what he calls "mini-films". Long's directorial contribution to the campaign is similarly story-driven - the darkly paranoid "Wake Up", about a mother's pre-dawn rush to get to JCPenney's Black Friday sale.

Innate understanding: "I have a very good grasp of both sides of the business," he says. "When you understand the ad side and the film side, and how it takes so much collaboration now to get a great spot on air, the transition is easier."