Sweetshop signs Michael Downing

Global Production company Sweetshop has signed director Michael Downing for representation in the US, UK and Europe.

Downing’s work is defined by a subtle, observational, and comedic style with an emphasis on performance, and he has crafted award-winning work for agencies on both sides of the Atlantic, working with brands including Netflix, Samsung, Starbucks, McDonalds, Toyota, Timberland, Bud Light and ESPN. 

Downing studied fine art, acting and theatre, forming an experimental theatre company in Toronto, before stepping into filmmaking. As a student filmmaker his short films were consistently screened and awarded at festivals, and he attended the American Film Institute on a scholarship because of this early success. Based in LA, Downing is in development on his first two feature projects, The Threeway and Cowboy due to begin filming in Spring 2022. 

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to working with people that are as obsessed with commercials and content as I am.

“Morgan [Whitlock, Sweetshop London Executive Producer] and I are chuffed to bits that Michael has chosen Sweetshop UK as his new London home and we're just itching to create comedy gold with him," said Justin Edmund-White, Executive Producer at Sweetshop UK. "We've long admired Michael's hallmark style of dry observed comedy performance, which has an obvious UK appeal and chimes so well with our own cultural sensibilities."

George Meeker, Co-Managing Director at Sweetshop USA adds, “We are so pleased to be representing Michael. His ability to capture rich visual subtext and coax excellent verbal and silent performances is astonishing. His work has a down-to-earth quality which resonates with viewers of all stripes.”

“I’m excited to join the Sweetshop team and craft some funny stories about human beings," added Downing. "Having the opportunity to work with George [Meeker] and Jeff [Miller, joint MDs] in the US, who are both relentless perfectionists and the most joyful people you’ll ever meet – is going to be fun and demanding at the same time. Or maybe at different times. Either way, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to working with people that are as obsessed with commercials and content as I am. Justin and Morgan in London are like the British version of George and Jeff. Instead of being into surfing, they’re into rugby. I’m really looking forward to going on some team building overnights with those guys. The fact that the whole company is so incredibly nice makes it feel a bit like I’m back home in Canada.”