Archive

NINA HOLMGREN – RIGHT TO PLAY

As the founder of the first all-women’s soccer team in her native Afghanistan, Khalida Popal refused to take no for an answer in pursuit of her dream. Even when facing death threats, she remained undeterred; in addition to her own career on the field, she founded the non-profit organization Girl Power, [...]

ALLIE AVITAL – CHROMEO, DON’T SLEEP

It’s a classic music video trope – a camera panning over an expanse of undulating (usually…female) bodies. In “Don’t Sleep,” Allie Avital‘s latest work for Chromeo (featuring French Montana and Stefflon Don), the Partizan director playfully unpacks visual expectations for the genre, filling the halls of a cavernous mansion with [...]

CHRISTINE YUAN x MERCEDES x ANTONI

When it comes to excitement, passion, and love, getting “almost” there is never really good enough. Director Christine Yuan‘s latest work for Mercedes, created with newly Free The Bid-pledged agency Antoni, explores some of  life’s best moments – wild nights out at karaoke, flashlight beach camping, a magical first kiss [...]

CHARLOTTE REGAN – DODGY DAVE

Traditionally, on-screen representations of drug dealers are dark, dramatic, and violent. However, sometimes the job of dealing drugs can be…just as mundane as any other job. British director Charlotte Regan showcases this reality in in her short film “Dodgy Dave,” taking viewers along through the minutiae of a drug dealer’s [...]

KATERINA JEBB

Artist and filmmaker Katerina Jebb finds weighty resonances within the footsteps of passersby for “CHAMPS-ELYSEES SUMMER 2018,” her short film created for luxury French shoe company J.M. Weston. A cacophony of richly layered voices – activists, historical figures, and more – are woven together beneath footage of pedestrian’s feet, a [...]

HANNAH LUX DAVIS – THANK U, NEXT

Last Friday, Hannah Lux Davis broke the internet. When the London Alley director’s video for Ariana Grande‘s “thank u, next,” dropped, it smashed the record for most Vevo views within a 24 hour period (55.4 million…!). If that wasn’t impressive enough, the video’s impact even caused a weekend-long spike in [...]

CHIARA CLEMENTE x ARTSY x UBS

The Artsy x UBS series “Breaking Glass,” directed by Chiara Clemente, is a refreshing reminder that despite systemic biases in every creative field, there are brilliant women working to push the needle forward for representation everywhere. “I don’t think that ambition is different between men and women,” remarks Paola Antonelli, [...]

RAINE ALLEN MILLER x SECRET x WIEDEN+KENNEDY

When given the choice between relatively ineffectual gestures toward female empowerment and a raise, the decision for most women is clear: “I’d rather get paid!” Unfortunately, the sad truth is that women in the U.S. are still paid 20% less than men – the numbers only get worse for women [...]

1.4 AWARDS – 2018

(l-r) Charlotte Regan, Knucklehead MD Tim Katz, Ore Okenedo, and freelance EP Katie Dolan at the 1.4 awards party   Last week, the 1.4 Awards Showcase and party took place on Wednesday, November 21st at The Oval Space in London. “1.4’s criteria for brilliant filmmaking is for those pieces that [...]

WOMEN DIRECTORS AT SUNDANCE 2019

Yesterday, the 2019 Sundance Film Festival revealed their lineup of the 112 films, selected from a record-breaking pool of 14,259 submissions, that will screen across the festival’s 10 major categories, including the U.S. competition, world competition and NEXT sections. The Free The Bid team was delighted to see that 4 [...]

SAVANAH LEAF – THE AYES HAVE IT

Today, the poetic work of Free The Bid director Savanah Leaf, who recently signed to the roster of production company Lief, is featured on global media platform i-D. Free The Bid’s Communications and Content Manager, Chloe Coover, interviews Savanah on her short film “The Ayes Have It,” its political themes, [...]

CARA STRICKER – A-Z OF AALIYAH

Today, the director’s cut of Cara Stricker‘s lush tribute to gone-too-soon R&B icon Aaliyah, created for Vice, i-D, and MAC Makeup, has been selected as a Short Of The Week! “Stricker takes the tired “A – Z format” and bends it out of recognition, privileging visual and audio flow over [...]

JESSY MOUSSALLEM – HEART OF SKY + EMBRACE

There’s no mistaking one of Jessy Moussallem‘s visionary films. Signed with Phantasm and Caviar, Jessy’s signature visual sensibility takes its cues from her home country of Lebanon; it’s a vision shaped by “people I’ve met and stories I’ve heard.” Last year, Jessy burst onto the scene with her arresting (and [...]

FIONA JANE BURGESS – PEAKES, STILL LIFE

Loss permeates through Lez Creative director Fiona Jane Burgess‘s haunting music video for PEAKES’ “Still Life.” Based on a deeply personal moment in the director’s life, “Still Life”‘s visual provides a balance to offset the piercing, somber beauty of frontwoman Molly Puckering‘s vocals. Individual women, closed off from one another [...]

NADIRA AMRANI – FLY

When director Nadira Amrani was first introduced to South London’s British-Nigerian MC Flohio, she knew she had found the long-awaited subject for the contemporary take on a classic tale that she had been working on. “Wow,” Nadira recalls thinking, “I’ve found Icarus, and she’s a woman.” Flash forward two years, [...]