On My Radar: Sebastien Petretti

Comedy and performance director Sebastien Petretti is signed to Annex Films and recently shot an ad for Italian classifieds website Subito.it. The commercial shows how you can convert your old belongings into money for new things via the eBay-like online marketplace and offers a typical dose of the director's upbeat humour.

Below, Petretti turns the focus on himself to talk about some of his own prized possessions and things that make him tick - including a new mini disk deck, Kenny Powers and a new addition to his Petretti family.

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

Heineken The Odyssey last year...

Or more recently Honda The Other Side.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

Vimeo, the hub for people who like visuals and great content. There are so many brilliant directors around the world and Vimeo is there to put them in the spotlight.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

A Mini Disk player deck to stop friends interfering with the music I want to share at parties!

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?

Facebook: I need my daily dose of shit.

What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?

I would love to say that I still have my old Nokia 3210 (and my Nintendo) but that would be lying... Spotify is perhaps the app I use the most.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Eastbound & Down – Kenny Powers rocks! They really manage to talk about American society for better and for worse… but mostly worse.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

Fitzcarraldo from [director] Werner Herzog. This film is megalomania personified. It’s a story about Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald alias Fitzcarraldo (Klaus Kinski) who desperately wants to build an opera in the middle of the Peruvian forest. Herzog was fully against VFX and decided to do everything live. It took three years of shooting in the forest and Herzog pushed the limits to the max (perhaps too far) to succeed. But for me, the result is brilliant.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

In a cab with an Afghan driver who explained his life. The idea seemed big, but it was on a Saturday night so I forgot everything afterwards. I still have his phone number… should I call him? 

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

The web, for sure. It made it possible for the first time to bring really crazy stuff to the screen. From a client point of view, web campaigns were a kind of bonus/extra. For the first time (in my short professional experience) clients were keen to give a lot of freedom to creatives and directors.

At the time (2007 - 2011) it wasn’t really possible to buy time slots on hub websites, like YouTube for example, so the only way to succeed was the quality of the content and its ability to become viral. This short period of time opened new horizons to agencies and directors. Interactive elements and less time restraints all add to this.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Let creatives do their jobs and TAKE MORE RISKS.

What or who has most influenced your career and why? 

What: I’m fascinated by extreme people. I’m constantly looking to speak with geeks. No matter what they do, I love to hear their stories; the more precise it is, the more intrigued I am. For me, a guy who collects stamps is just awesome. 

Who: Directors like David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Lars Von Trier or Jean-Pierre Jeunet. They are the reason I started directing and I’m still fascinated by their work today.  

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

My first child was born last week, but I don’t have any idea how it works. I’m really happy though!