Federico Brugia Fits into LA.B's Formula
The Italian director, a partner in Italy's The Family, is finding success in the States at LA.B Film & Content and its roster of international talents.
Federico Brugia Fits into LA.B's Formula
The Italian director, a partner in Italy's The Family, is finding success
in the States with LA.B Films and its roster of international talents.
Relatively few artists-turned-directors are able to transfer the skills of their original craft into moving pictures. Venice, CA-based LA.B Film & Content has found such an artist in Federico Brugia. The award-winning Italian filmmaker and painter, who's also a partner at The Family Films in Italy, likes to infuse lush imagery and a kind of "couture sophistication" into his TV spots.
It's a look that seems to have found a home, as he's directed spots in Europe for such brands as Mercedes, Jagermeister, BMW and others. And he's also applied his filmic style to his first feature, "Tutti I Rumori Del Mare" (which translates to "All the Murmurs of the Sea"). He's also just recently published his first book, "51," a visual anthology chronicling the life and surrounds of – what else? – a globetrotting film director. The volume was published last year by Damiani, publishers of a wide range of coffee-table books on architecture, design, fashion and other trendy topics.
Brugia landed at LA.B last year, and he's already made an impact at the company. "He's got a really strong vision, which is a direct result of the passion and dedication he has for his job," says LA.B Executive Producer Francesca Matera. "His work is both functional and memorable, and will translate nicely to the US market." Adds LA.B Owner and EP Alan Landau, "He can turn even the most mundane concept into something truly beautiful, which is not surprising, given that he's both an artist and Italian. We think his reel speaks for itself."
Brugia's "New York City 2011" spot for Mercedes-Benz out of Instinct, Milan is a hypnotic meditation on courageous thinking, starring none other than the city itself. Brugia's view of the Big Apple embraces every aspect of the metropolis, from the gutters to glitzy cocktail parties, all with his meticulous attention to detail and studied form.
For "Atrium," a forty-second European spot for Jagermeister, Brugia flocks man and beast alike into a fantasy garden club. Produced for the German agency Phillipp und Keuntje in Hamburg, the TVC features party-goers and the brand's iconic stag letting loose in an opulent penthouse-turned-indoor jungle.
Another Brugia gem – and one that combines the iconic American brand Kelloggs with an unexpected setting for a European audience – is "Annapurna." The spot, produced for JWT Milan, features radiant morning sunshine that caps off the chaotic overnight voyage of a young tourist on a crowded bus in Nepal, but it's all worth it – he ends his journey with a bowl of corn flakes shared with new friends overlooking the Himalayas. No smiling moms in the kitchen for this spot.
Says Brugia of his methodology, "Only when you have a precise idea of the work can you bring out the best images – this allows me to improvise on the set. When an ad agency provides me with a good concept and I'm given the flexibility to perform a beautiful execution, I can do everything to bring the creative idea out."
After graduating from the prestigious Bologna visual arts school DAMS in 1986, Milan-born Brugia entered the industry via music videos and DJ'ing at fashion shows for top designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Romeo Gigli, among others. In 1991 he collaborated with Italian actress Anna Galiena to direct the Venice Film Festival theme music, while also experimenting with Super 8, 35mm film and digital media.
His film and video experiments soon became public knowledge, after which he was approached by several European agencies to direct TVCs. His breakthrough TV spot, "New York, New York" for BMW out of DLV, Milan won numerous awards and brought him significant international attention. Since then, he's directed campaigns for such top brands as Audi, Montblanc, JC Penny, Saab and Infiniti to name a few, winning Cannes Lions, Clios, Eurobest, and New York Festivals honors along the way.
His debut feature film, shot in Italy and Hungary, is currently making the global film festival circuit. It stars Sebastiano Filocamo and Orsi Tóth in a stylish and moody psychological thriller set in the shadowy world of high-class prostitution.
For LA.B Film, Brugia represents one of a number of European talents who bring with them an ease and familiarity with longer formats and a more involved approach to creative. The company was founded in 2008 by Landau, a veteran production executive who launched the shop out of Cognito Films, his previous shop, largely as a response to shifting trends in the industry.
"It was really an answer to a changing marketplace," Landau tells SourceEcreative. "We wanted to bring a new sensibility to American advertising, and we felt the best way to do that was by representing a roster of top international talents along with our American directors."
Landau says the real shift, subtle yet fundamental, is the one in which advertisers realize that they're not only in the business of selling brands, but of branding experiences, attitudes and values. "We feel that today, advertising isn't as much about the product, but about building a connection between people and the brand," says Landau, hence his focus on directors who are strong on story and short on shtick.
As such, the roster at LA.B is diverse. It includes Julio del Alamo, founder of Alamo Films, who has been responsible for many of the most prominent ad campaigns in Spain over the last decade, winning awards from worldwide festivals including the Cannes Lions. Last year he directed the nationally-aired Jeep campaign, "Be Proud of Your Name," celebrating Chrysler's 70th anniversary (see "Icon" and "70 Years"), both of which were initially produced to run in Europe but were re-cut for the American market.
LA.B's menu of European talents also includes Manuel Werner, a German lifestyle director who was featured in the Shots New Directors Showcase; Matteo Bonifazio, who's lived in Italy and in Spain and worked in multiple international locations, as well as in the US; and the Belgian director Xavier Mairesse, who started his production career in Canada and worked as an AD on feature films before transitioning into commercial work. He was the recipient of two 2011, Cannes Lions awards for his work on a heart health PSA.
Also on the roster is Andrews Jenkins, a native New Yorker who's best known for his sport-related work and his broadcast promos for networks like NBC Universal and HBO. His work includes brands like Nike, Adidas, BMW, Gatorade and others, as well as a Top 10-rated Super Bowl spot for Budweiser featuring NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Rounding out the offering is Peter Refle, another German who's best known for his automotive work, and Michael Chaves, an American whose work reflects both a talent for comedy and an ability to integrate design and visual effects with live action.
Landau has backed this up with a wide-ranging network of reps for various markets and regions. The list includes Drew Miller in New York, Tracy Bernard in Chicago, Siobhan McCafferty in Los Angeles and Texas, Jack Reed in the Southeast and Betty Codeluppi in Europe.
With such an international roster, it's no surprise that Landau went abroad when looking for an EP to keep an eye on his director corps and their work. He found such a person in Francesca Matera, an Italian who has worked on productions originating in both Europe and the States. "She's led our efforts to expand our personal connections in the global marketplace," Landau explains, "and is playing a big role in our efforts to build a culturally and creatively diverse roster of international and American directors."
As Landau and Matera work to build LA.B's reputation as the go-to place for a mix of European and American talent, Brugia continues to build on his reputation as a charming, quotable and news-making character. A known bon vivant, he recently married famed Italian songstress Malika Ayane, tying the knot twice: once in the US in an extravagant Las Vegas ceremony and also in Milan, where top brass from Europe's ad, music and film communities were in attendance.
Concludes Brugia, with typical gusto, "What I like about LA.B is that its producers have impeccable taste and can execute any job anywhere. They're also incredibly down to earth. We speak the same language, literally and figuratively."
Published 14, March, 2012
