Cannes - Saatchi & Saatchi presents the best new directors from around the world at the 17th Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase.
This year's theme of 'having the guts' to make The Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase, captured the resilience and sheer determination new directors need to make it.
The Showcase event brought this to life with a performance of human bunraku. Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppetry. Mind boggling stunts, such as limbs being severed and performers travelling though the air in slow motion, show how a wannabe director overcomes obstacles and rejections to finally take charge of a shoot.
To produce the bunraku spectacle, Saatchi & Saatchi worked with Baker Coogan Productions, known for their work with Scissor Sisters.
The music for the Showcase event was written and produced by Malcolm McLaren, the English impresario and musician, best known for being manager of the punk rock band, The Sex Pistols, back in the 1970s.
Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Creative Director Bob Isherwood, who hosts the Showcase, says, "It's probably getting tougher to make it as a director. Today's climate favours established talent, who are getting the pick of the scripts. But, as our Showcase reveals, there are outstanding new directors around, who have both the talent and the guts and determination to get noticed.
The directors on the Showcase are selected from over 500 reels submitted by our 153 offices worldwide. It's highly competitive, and by showcasing the hottest new talent around, we keep the industry fresh and established directors on their toes."
The Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase has become one of the most popular events during The Cannes Lions Festival. Again, it took place in The Grand Auditorium, and there was a live video link to The Debussy Theatre for the overspill. And for the first time, the Showcase was webcast on the Cannes Lions website (www.canneslions.com).
Directors are viewable at www.heresanidea.com