Sam Washington | |
---|---|
![]() Sam Washington, Director | |
Born | 2 August 1979 |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Director and Writer |
Sam Washington (born 2 August 1979) is an English director and writer of films and commercials.
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. [5]
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 copywriter 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, [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 International Festival of Creativity [1] and was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. [16] The campaign broke the Facebook record for the fastest branded video to reach 4 million views in Australia. [17]
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] |
Sam Washington | |
---|---|
![]() Sam Washington, Director | |
Born | 2 August 1979 |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Director and Writer |
Sam Washington (born 2 August 1979) is an English director and writer of films and commercials.
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. [5]
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 copywriter 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, [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 International Festival of Creativity [1] and was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. [16] The campaign broke the Facebook record for the fastest branded video to reach 4 million views in Australia. [17]
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] |