Biscuit Filmworks LA Directors

THE GLUE SOCIETY IS AN INDEPENDENT CREATIVE COLLECTIVE FOUNDED IN 1998. UNUSUALLY THEY BRING ART AND COMMERCE INTO THE SAME CREATIVE SPACE.
THE TEAM NOW FEATURES SIX ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, FILM & PROJECT DIRECTORS – INCLUDING JONATHAN KNEEBONE, GARY FREEDMAN, PETE BAKER, LUKE CRETHAR, PAUL BRUTY AND LUKE NUTO.
THE GLUE SOCIETY HAS DEVELOPED A WORLD CLASS REPUTATION IN THE COMMUNICATION ARTS, WORKING ACROSS ALL MEDIA FORMS FROM COMMERCIALS, BROADCAST ENTERTAINMENT AND MUSIC VIDEOS TO BOOK DESIGN, ART EXHIBITIONS AND SCULPTURE. 

British born, Daniel moved from England to Hamburg (via Minnesota) at the age of 5, so while his gene pool craves humour with a British slant, his German upbringing has brought out the engineer in him; efficiently funny.

Daniel has worked in production since 1999, making the move from frustrated producer to director in 2005. Since then work for Mercedes and Smart has brought him a Yellow Pencil from D&AD, 2 Gold Lions at Cannes, a few British Arrows, Clios and many more.

His confused background has also somehow made art direction another of his primary skills as can be seen in work for Playboy, Nivea and a raunchy film for sex toy site, Eis.de. Other recent credits include work for Arla and Shredded Wheat. 

Michael Downing started directing as a small child, when he used to tell his friends what game they were going to play and how it would end. He later studied acting and started his own small theatre company. He graduated from the American Film Institute and won a student Academy Award for his graduating short film, entitled Fine. His first American commercial was a Bud Light Super Bowl spot entitled Skydiver, which is still one of the most popular Super Bowl spots ever. 

Awards:

Pencil

Bronze Lion

AICP award

Student Academy Award

Bessie - Canadian advertising award

Porsche racing - first place in Southern California event

My hot wife

A second place soccer trophy for some league in Los Angeles when I was a kid and no-one else really played soccer in North America

Junior basketball champs when in high school 

Two-time DGA Director of the Year Noam Murro directs commercials that are often humor-based and organically ironic, never feeling forced or manufactured. In 2000 he formed biscuit filmworks, a commercial production company highly regarded for its smart, sophisticated work. As a nod to his range and depth, Noam was named one of the 50 most influential people of the last 20 years by Creativity, and was named the UK’s #1 director by Campaign.

In 2002, Noam directed Saturn’s “Sheet Metal,” a conceptually driven spot that Advertising Age’s Bob Garfield called “a rare, irresistible masterpiece.” AdCritic hailed it as the big idea of the year, while the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper called it a “rare pearl.” In 2003, AdCritic also labeled Noam’s Got Milk? “Birthday” as the best spot of the year, and the work was awarded with a Gold Lion in Cannes. His campaign for Olympus garnered him another Gold Lion at the 2005 awards along with a number of Silver and Bronze statues for other spots. That same year, he also won his first DGA Award. Noam won both Gold and Silver Cannes Lions in 2008 in the automotive category for Volkswagen “Night Drive” and Volkswagen “Dog”. He also made his feature film debut with Miramax’s critically acclaimed Smart People that year. Creativity magazine named his Comcast “Rabbit” spot the most-awarded spot of the 2009 awards season for winning a Yellow Pencil at the D&AD, a Bronze at the One Show, a Silver at the Clios, a Bronze at Cannes and three honors at AICP.

In 2010, Noam was honored with five awards at the AICP Show, putting him in a tie for the most awards given to a director. That year he also directed the groundbreaking HBO “Imagine” campaign via BBDO New York. The campaign was awarded twelve One Show Pencils and eleven Cannes Lions. Noam was once again named Director of the Year by the DGA for 2011, based on award-winning spots “Handlebar Mustache” for Heineken and “Hot House” for DirecTV. Notable work from 2013 includes Super Bowl favorite “Viva Young” for Taco Bell, Land Rover “Roam Free,” Volkswagen “Mask,” a multi-spot Sprint campaign starring Malcolm McDowell and James Earl Jones, and tear-jerking viral hit “Basketball” for Guinness, which has received 8 million YouTube views and counting.

Noam’s second feature film, Warner Bros.’ 300: Rise of an Empire, is set to debut in March 2014. The script, penned by 300 director Zach Snyder and his 300 partner, Kurt Johnstad, is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel and tells the story of Persian leader Xerxes in his quest for godhood and battles against Themistocles, including the Battle of Artemisium in 480 BC. 

Toronto native Jeff Low found his way into directing through a rather non-traditional route. A talented bass guitarist and keyboard player, he worked for nearly a decade as a full-time musician on projects ranging from jazz to punk rock. During this time, he started working on-set as a PA, and a curiosity for filmmaking was born. Driven by a passion for the process and aided by his affable personality, Jeff quickly moved up the ranks of commercial production, working closely as an EP with many award-winning directors.

Now an award-winning director in his own right, Jeff’s brilliant “Cat Man” spot for Skittles garnered 1.5 million views online within 24 hours of its debut, and the overall campaign won two Gold Lions at Cannes. He has also directed campaigns for Nissan, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Mattel, The Guardian, KFC, Comcast Xfinity, Mentos, The Vancouver Police Department, WWF, MINI, Brita, Baskin Robbins and FedEx, among others, and his work has been recognized in the Communication Arts Design and Advertising Annual, One Show, Cannes Lions, London International Awards and The Bessies.

More than anything, Jeff enjoys bringing good scripts to life and is constantly evolving as a filmmaker. Seemingly counter to his comedic style, Jeff approaches each project tactically, judiciously deconstructing the conceptual underpinnings of each project in preproduction. When called for, he is also known to collaborate as a writer with agency creative teams to deliver his signature offbeat style – always with impeccable comedic timing. 

A classically trained painter and sculptor, Andreas Nilsson is known for his fine art-driven, often surreal and playful style of directing. He entered into the world of commercials by way of set design and art direction in the music industry; a background that is evident in the elaborate, memorable images and sounds woven into his advertising campaigns.

Andreas has innovated for brands such as Budweiser, Target, Gevalia, Cadbury, Nike, Toyota, Valmano and others. His 2013 spot “The Epic Split” for Volvo Trucks shattered convention and instantly went viral, garnering over 67 million views on YouTube (and counting) and hitting every major “Best of the Year” list in the ad world. His original live installation “Cut Through L.A.” for Nike – involving staging over forty Chris Paul lookalikes in a freeze-frame along the Venice Beach Boardwalk – earned buzz and an AICP Next award to boot. Beyond commercials, Andreas has also worked with diverse performers including Kanye West, 2Chainz, David Guetta, Akon, Ne-Yo, Dizzee Rascal, Robbie Williams, Miike Snow, Röyksopp, Peter Bjorn and John, Moby, Yeasayer, Jose Gonzales, MGMT and others to create provocative music videos where the only thing to expect is the unexpected. He has also designed stages, video projections and costumes for the acclaimed Fever Ray world tour and for the Royal Theatre in Stockholm.

Having devoted time to an eclectic range of work throughout his career, Andreas’ background and skills as a fine artist permeate all aspects of his filmmaking – from the incredibly detailed set designs to the gorgeous visuals and handmade costumes that appear in much of his work. His depth lends itself to an unparalleled vision and sense of humor that cannot be replaced. 

Christopher Riggert’s cinematic work explores his fascination of visual language, born from his background in still photography, graphic design, and advertising. Christopher left his native Perth, Australia to travel the globe as a creative at agencies such as Fallon London, where he worked on global accounts for BBC, Skoda, British Telecom, United Airlines, Nike, MTV, Levi’s and Puma. He later shifted to directing with @radical.media, and was quickly named a “Director to Watch” by Creativity in 2008. Christopher joined biscuit filmworks in 2010, bringing his arsenal of skills and international palate to the roster.

With ingrained flexibility from his agency days and a depth of talent, Christopher works like a chameleon, easily changing directorial styles to best suit the project at hand. Brands such as Cisco, NBA, Mercedes, Dodge, Audi, Chevy, Fosters, Bulleit, Powerade, Yellowglen, Domino’s, Hyundai, Nike, New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission, and more have benefitted from Christopher’s comprehensive vision. For each client, he strives to create cohesive and fundamentally unique campaigns that illuminate a deeper emotional landscape lying just beneath the surface. His art and design background is evident in his work, which features visual compositions that are impactful and engaging.

Christopher’s work has appeared in the Super Bowl, and his buzzworthy Dodge campaign “How to Change Cars Forever” was honored at Cannes Lions. 

Isaiah is a Kabul-born filmmaker who got his start as an assistant director on feature films made by Tibetan monks. His father, a collector of South Asian textiles and antiquities, and mother, a trained Jungian psychologist, raised Isaiah and his two younger brothers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he spent his summers selling dismantled Indian palaces to tourists.
Bringing his colorful background to his directing work, Isaiah’s ambition was defined through his spectacular take on the music video—often elevating his genre-specific videos to transcendent levels. In his short career, his works have been featured on MTV, VH1 and in The New York Times, and have screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Yerba Buena Museum, The Hammer Museum and Art Basel Miami. Isaiah was awarded the 2012 MVPA Award for Best Direction of a New Artist for his Cults “Go Outside” video and the 2012 Best Narrative Video Award at the LAMVF for his Raphael Saadiq “Good Man” video. Most recently, his video for MGMT “Cool Song No. 2” earned him a spot as finalist for Best Music Video at the Ciclope Festival. In addition to such honors, Isaiah has been nominated for a number of other awards, including the UK Music Video Award, British Arrow, MVPA’s and the Vimeo Award.
More recently, Isaiah has been transitioning into the world of commercials, where he’s worked on campaigns for such high-profile clients as Adidas (for the 2012 Olympics), Adobe, Jack Daniels (for the launch of their Tennessee Honey Whiskey), Microsoft (to introduce Windows Phone 8) and Bacardi’s re-launch campaign for Dewar’s Scotch. 

Aaron Stoller is a well-rounded director with a knack for finding humor in even the most seemingly ordinary encounters. A lifelong cinephile, Aaron studied directing at the University of Missouri and entered the commercial world via MTV’s On-Air promotions department, where he constantly shot a variety of spots for the popular TV channel. During his almost 10-year tenure with MTV, Aaron directed hundreds of campaigns, many of which earned top honors from Cannes, ADC, AICP, D&AD and the Clios.

Since joining biscuit filmworks, Aaron has helmed notable campaigns for brands such as FedEx, Bank of America, Taco Bell, Volkswagen, HBO, Time Warner, NFL RedZone, Foot Locker, American Express, AT&T, ESPN, Sprint, Virgin Mobile, Clorox, bestselling video game Call of Duty, and more. Several of his recent campaigns have earned industry accolades including “Shake On It” for ESPN, which garnered a Silver Lion at Cannes, a One Show Silver Pencil, a Gold Andy Award, a Silver Clio and an AICP Award. His work for Clorox was also honored with both Silver and Bronze Clios.

Inspired by any opportunity to create something fresh and new, Aaron excels at patiently finding the perfect cast for each of his projects, complete with impeccable comedic timing. When not expertly magnifying human moments in fits of creative genius, Aaron can be found golfing or gambling (or on a good day, both). 

Clay Weiner’s performance-driven comedic style and indie spirit permeate all of his creative efforts, from commercials to online shorts and more. A graduate of Columbia University where he studied philosophy, Clay began his advertising career as a writer at Cliff Freeman & Partners, then later spent time at Publicis New York, BBH New York and Wieden+Kennedy Portland. Clay has also served as a writer for Conan O’Brien’s late night show and for The Onion. Clay is well known for having written and directed the award-winning Bud Light "Dude" campaign for DDB Chicago, which has garnered over 38 million online views and counting. The spot earned him a 2008 Young Director Award at Cannes and was named as one of the ten best beer commercials from the past 15 years by The One Show in 2011.

Clay’s original comedic vision has lent itself to edgy and impactful spots for clients such as Liquid Plumr, Sonic, Capri Sun, Allstate, Ruffles, Pepsi, PETA, Burger King, Ray-Ban, Bud Light, MTV, ESPN, Axe, Macy’s, Kraft, Time Warner and more. His humor resonates with a wide audience, as evidenced by his “Double Impact” spot for Liquid Plumr being named Ad Age’s Viral Video of the Year in 2012. Clay’s work has also earned accolades from Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show and AICP. Clay also has a knack for putting celebrities at ease, working with everyone from actors Samuel L. Jackson and Mary Louise Parker to professional athletes David Ortiz and John Cena.

In addition to his spot work, Clay is known for his witty independent online shorts, including Emmy-nominated “The Christmas Tree”. Recognized for his comedic talent and acute visual style, Clay was tapped by Paramount Studios and MGM to direct the upcoming musical remake of the iconic ‘80s film, Valley Girl. Clay also recently wrote and directed half-hour pilot “Drama High,” and published an award-winning book of photography, TRY-ONs, featuring images of Clay transformed into over 140 eccentric characters.