the Talent
From Junior Creatives to ECDs, delve into career highlights (and lowlights) in our in-depth profiles.
The Way I See It: Guillermo Vega
Guillermo Vega, multi-award winning CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi London, is a man in a hurry. A founder of fabulously fast-growing offices – his career includes setting up and growing W+K São Paulo from three to 100 employees in four years – he tells Carol Cooper about learning to be patient, the Super London way.
Creative Correspondence: Olivier Altmann & Dimitri Lucas
Continuing our series of back-and-forth interviews between creative heavyweights and up-and-coming challengers for the crown, French advertising great Olivier Altmann speaks to a young creative and former colleague about anxieties, inspirations and why life's too short to work with assholes.
Creative Correspondence: Stéphane Xiberras & Mélanie Pennec
Old pals Stéphane Xiberras and Mélanie Pennec discuss boring 'feel good ads', the joys of lurking on social media and how they'd set up an agency from scratch in the latest of our 30th birthday celebration features.
The people who make the spots you love, covering all aspects of production, post and sound.
Rosie Westhoff and Fiona Hardingham win YDA's newest Gold Screen
Talking pressure, revisions, and what it means to have disability representation at all levels, this director-producer duo explains how they won the Dreampitch Gold Screen with just 100 words.
Paul Nevison on YDA wins and having no grand plan
Paul Nevison picked up Gold and Silver Screen awards at this year's YDA for two stunning short documentary films that take viewers to places they might otherwise never see. Here, he discusses his approach to filmmaking and that he got into directing "because nobody stopped me".
Sarah Clift talks dark comedy and Dream Pitches
Continuing our series of interviews with this year's Young Director Award winners, we speak to Best Use of Humour Gold Screen-winner Sarah Clift about her brilliant short film, The Birth of Valerie Venus.
YDA Winner Yuan Yuan on childhood and cultural literacy
Yuan Yuan Zhang, an MFA candidate at NYU Tisch in writing and directing, who won two Gold Screens for their film Heading South, gives advice to aspiring directors and explains how she drew from her own experiences for the film.
Creative correspondence... with Jani Guest and Natalie Blass
As we continue to eavesdrop on some of the people who've impacted the industry over the 30 years of shots' existence, we listen in on Jani Guest, MD at Independent London, as she chats to Natalie Blass, Independent's Head of Business Development, about life mantras, early mornings and moronic musings.
YDA winner Jesse Lewis-Reece talks multi-disciplinary study and personal stories
A film surrounding a poem, Eyelash, directed and edited by Jesse Lewis-Reece, made a huge impact with the Young Director Award jury, netting four prizes. We chat with him about inspiration, the importance of a soundtrack, and how empathy influences his work.
YDA winner Jeremy Merrifield on punching through problems
Jeremy Merrifield, the winner of this year's Young Director Award Special Jury Prize, discusses the inspiration behind Balloon, his powerful and emotional film about a young boy coming to terms with his place in the world and the impact of hyper-masculinity on his outlook.
Navigating authenticity and cultural range with Kimi Howl Lee
A playwright-turned-director, Kimi Howl Lee focuses on heritage, truth, and the strengths (and struggles) of presenting a story that is exceptionally unique.
Korrie Powell: Confronting the rage
Korrie Powell's new film and photographic project, RAGE, is a powerful, self-reflective exploration of the relationship between Black men and masculinity. Here, the young director and photographer delves into the meanings behind the film, and the reasons for making it.
shots Europe Award Winners' Spotlight
The latest interviews from the talent highlighted at the shots Awards Europe.
Director of the Year: Georgia Hudson
With a slew of great work behind her and last year's shots Awards Europe Director of the Year award sitting on her mantlepiece, Park Pictures' Georgia Hudson reveals why choosing faith over fear has paid dividends.
Production Company of the Year: Pulse Films
James Sorton and Davud Karbaassioun, Managing Director and President respectively of Pulse Films, 2019's shots Awards Europe Production Company of the Year, look back over a year of achievements and what helps them stand out.
Editing House of the Year: Final Cut
We speak to David Webb, editor and managing director of shots Awards Europe-winner Final Cut London, about what led them to have such a cracking 2019 and what the future holds for post production.
Audio Company of the Year: Factory
Continuing our conversations with the winners of this year's shots Awards Europe, we speak to Anthony Moore, founding partner and creative director at Factory, about the audiotastic work they've produced in the past 12 months and what 2020 brings.
Editor of the Year: Joe Guest
With his company, Final Cut, picking up Editing House of the Year, it's no great surprise that the industry titan should also pick up an award. We chat to Guest about his impressive body of work and how the future looks to him.
Meena Ayittey: Showing it like it is
The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, Meena Ayittey eschewed her parents’ conventional career aspirations to forge a successful career in the creative industries. Recently signed to Great Guns, she finds rich filmic inspiration in the concept of racism, from her heartrending tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement to a new documentary lifting the lid on creatives of colour and the challenges of adland.
Creative Correspondence: Andreas Nilsson and Ben Campbell
From whale poop, to rockhopper penguins; from the importance of planning to the influence of artists, The Quarry's Ben Campbell and Biscuit's Andreas Nilsson have the email correspondence you didn't know you needed to read.
Em Weinstein’s queer homecoming
We talk to emerging director Em Weinstein about their recent win at Outfest, how to disrupt the gender binaries in film, how to make festivals more approachable, and what it will take to make storytelling more inclusive.
Creative Correspondence... with Ram Madhvani and Tanvi Gandhi
Our 30th celebrations continue as we eavesdrop on conversations between some of the industry's most renowned figures chatting to the icons of the future. This time it's directing legend Ram Madhvani talking... well, rhyming... with Equinox Films' up-and-comer, Tanvi Gandhi.
Mark Molloy: The Underdog at Apple’s core
With a career spanning the best part of 15 years, and a 2019 that would be tough to beat, what’s next for the SMUGGLER director whose Underdogs and Surprises have given Apple advertising real heart? Jamie Madge grabbed some FaceTime with the locked-down Aussie to chat about the whole working-from-home thing.
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Hannah & Adriana's internet of comedy
Comedy directors, Hannah & Adriana, of Superprime, chat about cutting their teeth on editing Funny or Die skits, what SNL taught them about collaboration, and how to become funnier than your neighbor’s 12 year old kid who downloaded TikTok last week and has a million followers.
Creative correspondence... with Diane McArter and Casey Rand
As part of our ongoing 30th birthday celebrations, we're asking iconic industry figures to chose a person to interview and be interviewed by. Here, Diane McArter and Casey Rand talk social change, discovering purpose and what finally helps tip a tipping point.
YDA 1-to-2 with Lisa Mehling and Nisha Ganatra
The final element of this year's YDA Week, ahead of tomorrow's ceremony, is a discussion with Chelsea Pictures' MD and former YDA President, Lisa Mehling, and TV, film and commercial director, Nisha Ganatra.
YDA 1-to-1 with... Ram Madhvani
Day two of YDA Week ends with insight from iconic, Cannes Lion-winning director Ram Madhvani.
YDA 1-to-1 with... Pamela B Green
In the second of today's YDA 1-to-1 interviews, Pamela B Green discusses her fascinating and powerful documentary, Be Natural; The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache, which is about the world's first female film director.
YDA 1-to-1 with... Justin Reardon
shots Co-Editor Danny Edwards and Budweiser Whassup creative-turned-director Justin Reardon discuss using humour in dark times, the best way for aspiring directors to get noticed, and much more...
Benji Weinstein’s aiming higher than quarantine comedy
Writer/Director Benji Weinstein is behind the all too real zoom sitcom, Join Meeting, but he has been working with comedy for years. He dives into what makes comedy funny, what makes a joke land, and why it’s all so terribly relatable.
Cracking the comedy case with The Bobbsey Twins From Homicide
With a creative partnership background and a fine eye for visually impressive, side-splittingly funny gags, the 'Twins' body of work has seen them go epic with Sindy dolls, have some BCFing fun and recreate an iconic dance routine with muscled movers. We caught up with them to find out how to make laughs look good.