Director Diana Kunst and her collaborator Mau Morgo open their video for James Blake and Rosalía‘s “Barefoot In The Park,” with a striking image: a butterfly floats down over the scene of a flaming car wreck, watched over by two motionless children. It’s a powerful juxtaposition, serving as a fitting [...]
The American West has always been a captivating, mystical space, where possibility beckons for filmmakers and photographers. PRETTYBIRD director Jess Kohl, when hired to direct a campaign highlighting how Facebook can bring together communities, trained her lens on the unique group activities that connect people across the wide open spaces [...]
In director Bethan Seller‘s latest work for the Royal Bank of Scotland, an ordinary cafe becomes the stage for one daydreamer’s jazz-hands fantasy world. Created with production company Greenroom Films and newly pledged agency The Leith Agency, who are the first Scottish agency to commit to the Free The Bid [...]
March 31st marked Trans Day of Visibility, celebrating the vitality and courageousness of the trans community. As part of a rising tide of trans voices in media, model and activist Munroe Bergdorf has been an outspoken advocate, articulating intersections of her experience as a black trans woman to audiences on [...]
To showcase South African clothing retailer Edgars‘ winter line, agency VML South Africa enlisted the talents of not one, not two, but THREE talented Free The Bid women directors. Director Kit, Gale Maimane, and Jeana Theron each brought their unique vision to the table, creating richly textured short branded films [...]
Happy Women’s History Month! Although Free The Bid celebrates the accomplishments of women every single month, since women are incredibly f*cking talented and need to be celebrated EVERY day…we are all in for Women’s Day on March 8th! We hope this newsletter is a consistent reminder of the fact that [...]
Theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989, stating that “because the intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism, any analysis that does not take intersectionality into account cannot sufficiently address the particular manner in which Black women are subordinated.” Filmmaker Marian Edusei, using Crenshaw’s [...]
In advance of the Women’s World Cup this summer, PRETTYBIRD director Eloise King envisions a not-so-far off utopia in her film for Nike Women, where powerful, beautiful, and multi-talented women can stretch, sweat, and move their bodies together in harmony. With a cast who embody a variety of intersectional identities, [...]
In her vérité-style documentary, “The Brink,” Washington Square Films filmmaker Alison Klayman took an unexpected approach to confronting political extremism, embedding herself directly in the belly of the beast. Following notorious former Trump administration Chief Strategist Steve Bannon during the year after his ousting from the White House, Alison went [...]
“To capture something striking,” photographer Elsa Bleda tells us, “you need to keep your eyes open.” Director Georgi Banks-Davies inspires viewers to do just that in her Lexus film “Sunrise to Sunrise,” which takes the city of Lisbon, Portugal as its subject. Inspired by the aesthetic of Elsa’s photography, Georgi [...]
Free The Bid-pledged brand Diageo is serious about crafting marketing that reflects the diverse reality that their consumers live within. As Diageo’s CMO Syl Saller puts it, “advertising is telling stories that are backed by billions of dollars to have them heard.” This means that brands can play a crucial [...]
February 2019: Women Directors WERE At The Oscars! Even though it’s the shortest month of the year, February has been quite an eventful one! The month was kicked off by Super Bowl LIII, where some of our directors had the opportunity to shine (although far fewer than we’d like – more [...]
What do a wind tunnel, an ultra-powerful magnet, and an elaborate light-show in the middle of the forest have in common? Director Linnéa Bergman‘s branded music video for Swedish musician Rein‘s cover of the 1995 euro-dance hit “Electric,” weaves footage of all three elements together – each scenario powered by [...]
For visual artist Leena Al Ghouti, the city of Dubai – her home – is alive with vibrant creative connection. Director Aldona Kwiatkowski, newly added to the Free The Bid database, brings viewers into Leena’s world in “My Chosen Family,” Aldona’s impressionistic short documentary created with agency Neuland + Herzer for [...]
When director Emma Holly Jones discovered Suzanne Allain‘s script for “Mr. Malcolm’s List,” on a Black List Table Reads podcast episode, she saw the potential for the kind of period romance film that she’d always hoped to bring to life onscreen – fittingly, since she was named after a beloved [...]