Sam Washington (filmmaker)

Sam Washington (born 2 August 1979) is an English director and writer of films and commercials.

Sam Washington
Sam Washington, Director
Born (1979-08-02) 2 August 1979
NationalityBritish
OccupationDirector and Writer

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 (film).[5]

Career

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 copy writer 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 (film),[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[1] and was featured on the Ellen Show.[16] The campaign broke the Facebook record for the fastest branded video to reach 4 million views in Australia.[17]

Awards
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
  1. "Optus Case Study". Advertolog.
  2. "Webby Winners 2016". Webby official site.
  3. "LIA winners 2015". LIA official site.
  4. "Palmsprings Shortfest Winners 2012". Hollywood Reporter.
  5. "Fall 2012 Catalogue". PRWeb.
  6. "The Work". Campaign Live.
  7. "Adidas campaign". Campaign Live.
  8. "Sneakerface". AdForum.
  9. "Better Effect". Campaign Live.
  10. "Mascot". BestAdsOnTv.
  11. "Official Website". samwashington.com.
  12. "Official Website". Akita Film SRL.
  13. "List of winners 2012". Roma Webfest.
  14. "Washington Wins". LBB Online.
  15. "Take A Bow". The Drum.
  16. "Did Ricky Just Do That". AdForum.
  17. "AntiAd". MediaWeek.
  18. "VMX Winners 2016". PRWeb.
  19. "2016 Shortlist". Creativepool Awards.
  20. "BEFest Winners 2015". BEFest Official Site.
  21. "List Of Winners 2015". Asia Pacific Excellence Awards official site.
  22. "Winners Announced". Studio Magazine Online.
  23. "Official Selection 2012". LondonIndependant.
  24. 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.
  25. "2011 Maverick Movie Awards, Year 03". Maverick Movie Awards. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
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