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Tomorrow signs Jessie Zinn
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Tomorrow announce that the filmmaker has signed on for commercial representation in the US.
Tomorrow announce that filmmaker Jessie Zinn has signed on for commercial representation in the US.
Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Zinn is a SAFTA-winning director whose bold visuals have captivated viewers worldwide across commercial and narrative formats.
Born the same year South Africa moved from apartheid to democracy, Zinn grew up in a country in the midst of a self-reckoning, a place she describes as full of beauty, humour, contradiction, and reinvention. That upbringing sparked a lasting curiosity about what we inherit, what we perform, what we hide, and how we survive it all. She carried that curiosity to Stanford, where she earned an MFA in Documentary Film, and fuelled a body of work that marries emotional honesty with awe-inspiring visuals drawn from everyday life.
She has directed many spots for lifestyle and travel brands, including the Four Seasons, Belmond, Marriott, and Jumeirah Al Naseem, as well as additional commercial work for Onvida Health, Generali, Sonnenglas, and the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. Additionally, she directed the mixed-media PSA Can I Please Go To The Bathroom?, which addresses girls’ concerns about menstruation with unflinching empathy.
An acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Zinn directed Drummies, later acquired by The New Yorker, a short film that follows the drum majorettes of Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Primary School. She won a SAFTA for Best Documentary Short for Faces of Fortune, centering on Cape Town theatre star Terry Fortune. With Wavelengths, Jessie captured the illuminated windows of Bay Area volunteers for Exhale, a hotline for women seeking help processing their abortion experiences.
“Across the board, Tomorrow has such a diverse and exciting roster of directors,” remarks Zinn on signing. “The work doesn’t feel like it all comes from the same machine, which I love. It feels like a place where different voices can co-exist properly, and I’m really excited to be joining that. Meeting Chris [Zander], he felt like someone willing to get into the creative trenches with you, which is rare and refreshing. This industry can sometimes feel quite lonely, or like you’re constantly fighting for the work to stay alive, so having someone who is genuinely in it with you makes a huge difference.”
Tomorrow’s Managing Director, Chris Zander, says of Jessie Zinn, “She wowed our reps before we even signed her. Her work blew our minds immediately. She’s so smart, and her work is instantly compelling to anyone who watches it. The team and I can’t wait to get her in front of a wider US audience and for the rest of the industry to know and love working with Jessie the way that we do.”
