Sam Washington (filmmaker)
Sam Washington | |
|---|---|
 Sam Washington, Director | |
| Born | 2 August 1979 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Director and Writer |
Sam Washington (born 2 August 1979) is an English director and writer of films and commercials.
His work has been awarded by international organizations and juries, including Cannes Lions,[1] The Webby Awards,[2] London International Awards[3] and Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.[4]
His most acclaimed works include the ‘Ricky’ advertising campaign for Australian telecommunications brand Optus, featuring British comedian Ricky Gervais[1] and the film Lab Rats.[5]
Career
[edit]Washington started his career at the age of sixteen and held various positions within the television and film industries before making his commercial directorial debut in 2001 with a series of animated commercials for Sky Television entitled ‘Toon Town’.
In 2003, Washington took a break from commercials to work on the launch of the rock music channel Scuzz. Then in 2005, after a brief return to directing, took a position as a copywriter at London advertising agency Brothers & Sisters, working predominantly on the Sky Sports account.[6]
When Washington returned to directing in 2007, it was for sports brands such as adidas,[7] Foot Locker[8] and Sky Sports,[9] working with athletes like Lionel Messi,[7] and Cesc Fàbregas.[10]
Washington's commercial for Yorkshire Tea marked a move away from sports and into more mainstream advertising, going on to direct commercials for Chevrolet, Tesco, BSkyB, Sky Italia and Vax.[11][12]
In 2009, Washington directed and produced the short film Lab Rats,[5] written by Louis Rosenberg, which went on to win multiple awards including Best Short Film at Moondance International Film Festival and Best Foreign Short at L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival.[5] Lab Rats was later re-edited into a six-part web series, which won the Best Web Series award at the Los Angeles Web Series Festival and was licensed by Frostbite Pictures for distribution.[13]
In 2011, Washington directed the short film Lost & Found as part of the Smoke & Mirrors 48 Hour Film Festival, for which he won Best Film.[14] Lost & Found went on to win the Online Audience Choice Award at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.[4]
In 2013, Washington appeared on Naomi Campbell’s model-search reality TV show, The Face, directing a commercial for luxury car brand Maserati which featured the show’s contestants.[15]
In 2015, Washington directed a series of commercials for Australian telecommunications brand Optus, featuring British comedian Ricky Gervais. The campaign received wide critical acclaim including a Cyber award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity[1] and was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[16] The campaign broke the Facebook record for the fastest branded video to reach 4 million views in Australia.[17]
Awards
[edit]| Commercial Awards & Nominations | |||
| Year | Association | Award Category | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Webby Awards | Official Honouree[2] | |
| 2016 | VMX Awards | Judges Choice Award[18] | |
| 2016 | Creativepool Awards | Nomination for Best Director of The Year[19] | |
| 2016 | Creativepool Awards | Nomination for Influencer of The Year[19] | |
| 2015 | Cannes Lions | Cyber Lion[1] | |
| 2015 | London International Awards | Best Branded Entertainment[3] | |
| 2015 | BEFest | Grand Prix[20] | |
| 2015 | BEFest | Best Campaign[20] | |
| 2015 | BEFest | Best Branded Entertainment[20] | |
| 2015 | Asia Pacific Excellence Award | Overall Winner[21] | |
| Film Awards & Nominations | |||
| Year | Association | Award Category | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Los Angeles Web Series Festival | Best Series[13] | |
| 2012 | Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films | Online Audience Choice Award[4] | |
| 2012 | Triforce at BAFTA | Best Short Film[22] | |
| 2012 | International 48 Hour Film Challenge | Best Short Film[14] | |
| 2012 | London Independent Film Festival | Nominated for Best Short Film[23] | |
| 2011 | L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival | Best Foreign Short[5] | |
| 2011 | Moondance International Film Festival | Best Short Film[5] | |
| 2011 | San Louis Obispo International Film Festival | Audience Choice Award[5] | |
| 2011 | Silicon Valley Film Festival | Best Short Film[24] | |
| 2011 | Maverick Movie Awards | Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director[25] | |
| 2011 | Ventura Film Festival | Best Short Film[5] | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Optus Case Study". Advertolog.
- ^ a b "Webby Winners 2016". Webby official site.
- ^ a b "LIA winners 2015". LIA official site.
- ^ a b c "Palmsprings Shortfest Winners 2012". Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Fall 2012 Catalogue". PRWeb. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012.
- ^ "The Work". Campaign Live.
- ^ a b "Adidas campaign". Campaign Live.
- ^ "Sneakerface". AdForum.
- ^ "Better Effect". Campaign Live.
- ^ "Mascot". BestAdsOnTv.
- ^ "Official Website". samwashington.com.
- ^ "Official Website". Akita Film SRL.
- ^ a b "List of winners 2012". Roma Webfest.
- ^ a b "Washington Wins". LBB Online.
- ^ "Take A Bow". The Drum.
- ^ "Did Ricky Just Do That". AdForum.
- ^ "AntiAd". MediaWeek.
- ^ "VMX Winners 2016". PRWeb.
- ^ a b "2016 Shortlist". Creativepool Awards.
- ^ a b c "BEFest Winners 2015". BEFest Official Site.
- ^ "List Of Winners 2015". Asia Pacific Excellence Awards official site.
- ^ "Winners Announced". Studio Magazine Online.
- ^ "Official Selection 2012". LondonIndependant.
- ^ Normal, Abby (2011-10-03). "2011 Silicon Valley Film Festival "The Results"". Yahoo Voices. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "2011 Maverick Movie Awards, Year 03". Maverick Movie Awards. Retrieved 8 April 2014.