Directors to Watch 2009
14 of the world's freshest directing talents
Everyone loves discovering new directors and everyone loves lists. For those reasons, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to come up with a definitive run-down of the most engaging new directors for our annual Directors to Watch report.
This year's crop is different for a couple of reasons. First, it skews toward the world of animation. To find our favorites, we received and watched more than 300 reels. Whatever the reason, it quickly became clear that in an oversaturated market, A LOT of directors are creating high-quality animated work with scant resources.
Secondly, our list of 14 is shorter than usual. Perhaps we were a little ruthless, but at a time when advertising is experience an identity (and financial) crisis, we looked for directors with strong storytelling skills, interesting ideas and unique perspectives that defied category or genre. Given the right project, we are confident these 14 could direct ads for cars, condoms or carrots.
A few months ago Dan Wieden shared with us the principle that guides him when hiring new creatives. It's a standard we tried to live up to. "I want to first look at their book and sense an individual there," he said. "That individual voice is the most important thing I look for because I think when you hear it, it carries a lot more power."
Read the profiles for this year's Directors to Watch below.
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Magazine
May 2010
Our May 2010 issue features a roundtable of directors, agency execs and production company EPs discussing the dire lack of women behind the camera on commercial shoots, our annual list of the year's top spot helmers, the story behind Philips' "Parallel Lines" shorts and more.