2024

Annalee Walton

Annalee Walton

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? Does a commercial for my dad’s work count? Gotta start somewhere! How did you get into directing? I’m an only child of two very loving and anxious parents who didn’t really know what to do with me and my fabulously random talents. Out of…

Jason Blanc

Jason Blanc

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? Fuccillo Car Commercials How did you get into directing? I always wanted to be a director – started directing short films with my friends. Worked my way up in a production company to fulfill my dream of being a director What is your most…

Ava Himmel

Ava Himmel

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? I was hired to direct scenes of a Sizzle reel for an up-and-coming writer to pitch his feature Puppet President in December of 2021. It starred the writer himself as well as William O’Leary. It was an exciting opportunity, and the first chance I had…

Brian Lawes

Brian Lawes

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? My first professionally directed project in the entertainment world was a 60-minute documentary I co-directed in Fall 2021 called Dialogue Lab: America. Commissioned for release in partnership with the National Day of Dialogue in January 2022, the film explores themes of unity and dialogue…

Giuseppe De Lauri

Giuseppe De Lauri

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? I directed a short film titled Welcome in 2021, which tells the story of an undocumented young man who immigrates to New York and works in his uncle’s restaurant. Production and shooting were challenging due to the height of COVID, which drove up costs,…

Mitchell Lazar

Mitchell Lazar

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it?  Verizon Credo – a long-form branded content piece that explores the impact Verizon employees have on customers’ lives. I had the opportunity to shape the project’s creative direction and contribute to the writing, blending my narrative instincts with commercial storytelling to create something visually…

Derek Nguyen

Derek Nguyen

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? My first professionally directed music video released December 2022 for Hollywood Records: “Insomnia” by The Moss. It was simultaneously horrifying, enthralling, and reassuring to bring my experiences from collaborating on passion projects to a professional workflow. I realized then that the passion of filmmaking…

Elizabeth Katz

Elizabeth Katz

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? I was recently hired to direct two music videos for the artist Natalie Wilson, for her debut album “Lady & The Champs.” We shot both of the videos in her Connecticut hometown in September 2024 and they were released recently, October 4th and November…

Dennis Williams

Dennis Williams

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it? In 2022, I directed a campaign titled “Dear Brodie” for Russell Westbrook’s Honor the Gift clothing brand which was my first professional directing work. The campaign involved a one-min commercial as well as a 10-min narrative project. How did you get into directing? I…