Saatchi celebrates the best new directing talent in the 20th New Directors’ Showcase at Cannes 2010

Saatchi & Saatchi presents the best new directing talent from aroundthe world at the 20th Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase (NDS),continuing its unwavering commitment to creativity worldwide. To celebrate 20years of the NDS, Saatchi & Saatchi uses cutting edge technology to makethe impossible possible as Paul Arden, creative luminary, posthumously presentsthe Showcase alongside Richard Myers. Both appear on stage as holograms createdby Musion and Square Zero.  Paul Arden introduced the first ever NewDirectors’ Showcase back in 1991, when he was Executive Creative Director ofSaatchi & Saatchi London.  Sadly he died two years ago.  

 Richard Myers, Saatchi& Saatchi’s Creative Director for Global Culture, says: “If a theme emerges from this year’s Showcase, it’s probably theaffirmation that creativity has not become a casualty of recession. There’shumour – both off the wall and more conventional.  There’s genuine visualexploration and pioneering.  And there’s no shortage of real filmmakingcraft.” 

VIEW THE SHOWCASE HERE

To find the featureddirectors, Saatchi & Saatchi invites submissions from directors across theglobe and uses its Network of some 140 offices worldwide, as well asrelationships with key on-line sources. From an initial line up of severalhundred directors, the Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Creative Board make thefinal selection of just 20.

Myers explains: “Directors have always needed to be blessed with unnaturallyhigh levels of optimism. It’s especially true for today’s new directors. Theyhave the recession and an understandably cautious industry to contend with. Notto mention huge competition. There’s reason to be optimistic too that we’reseeing signs of the ‘anyone-can-make-a-movie’ democracy beginning to evolveinto something still vibrant but less naïve, more competent and genuinelycreative.”

TomEslinger, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Digital Creative Director, said thatbeing creative with tech and tools like holography and stereoscopic screensmoves sight, sound and motion beyond the 2D and opens the doors for ideas tonot only live beyond TV and print, but beyond mobiles and PCs. Saatchi &Saatchi has been early in mobile and augmented reality and our learnings withMusion for the NDS is another case of hands-on work that passes directly to ourNetwork and clients.” 

TheSaatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase has become one of the mostpopular events during the Cannes Lions Festival. Again this year, it took placein The Grand Auditorium. The Showcase was again webcast on the Cannes Lionswebsite.  Past Showcases have featured directors such as Michel Gondry,Spike Jonze, Danny Kleinman, Tarsem, Jonathan Glazer, David Cronenberg, MarkRomanek, Jason Reitman, Chris Palmer and Chris Cunningham. 

Thisyear, Saatchi & Saatchi partnered with onlinevirtual animation production studio Aniboom to launch the Nothing is ImpossibleChallenge. www.aniboom.com/Competition/saatchi.  

 TomEslinger comments: “As morebespoke online channels grow, we plan to partner and sponsor more competitionsand events to help stir the waters and get new talent out in front quickly. Wesponsor BUGvideo and found some very cool work there, and our competition withAniboom debuted this year with the winner being given a project with Saatchi& Saatchi. With so many places for films to be distributed, having greatpartners who help find the cream of the crop makes the NDS more exciting, growand evolve.”