Station Film has added director Sara Shelton to its roster for commercials. Known for performance-driven comedy, Shelton has a body of work which includes campaigns for Xfinity, Hormel, Manhattan Mini Storage, Sugar Mutts Rescue, Sprint and Country Time Lemonade–the last a winner of six Cannes Lions. She also recently directed the cold open to Luenell: Town Business on Netflix, executive produced by Dave Chappelle, and the original narrative short Teddy Bear (2022), a dramedy with a twist, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
“Sara’s work caught my attention for its strong storytelling and true-to-life comedy,” said Caroline Gibney, founding partner, Station Film. “Her writing background adds another layer to her strength as a storyteller. I think we need comedy in advertising more than ever these days, and Sara has a unique voice.”
Michelle Towse, partner/executive producer, Station Film, added, “Sara’s work hits all the right notes, it’s funny and grounded with great casting, performance and comedic timing. She came to meet with us for a coffee and we hit it off. She ended up staying for the afternoon. We are so excited to team up with her!”
Comedy has always been king for Shelton. “I don’t think I had a choice in the matter,” she said. “I’m addicted to laughing. I gravitate toward things that have an element of humor.”
After attending Miami Ad School, Shelton got her start in the business in New York on the agency side. She worked on staff for two years at Johannes Leonardo where she was the agency’s first writer when they opened their doors in 2007. After a two-year stint in Costa Rica surfing and freelancing, she returned to New York and spent three years as a writer at Droga5. Her experience on set piqued her interest in directing and after a couple independent projects behind the camera, it was Droga5 who called with her first commercial directing job for a Sprint commercial with Paul Marcarelli. It was a great experience, leading to ongoing work on the brand campaign, and Shelton never looked back.
“I’ve respected Station since I was on the agency side of this business, so I love their track record and ability to run their company and each and every production like a well-oiled machine,” Shelton said. “They are down to earth, with a passion for commercials. We instantly clicked and I knew I had found my people.”
Shelton–whose commercial representation had been most recently been via Ruckus Films prior to joining Station Film–finds inspiration in everything from the work of Zillennial comedy collective Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon and Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms, Theater Camp) and Bo Burnham’s Netflix special, Inside, to John Mulaney’s live talk show Everybody’s in LA and Kareem Rahma’s viral series Subway Takes.
In between directing commercials, Shelton is prepping her next short film, based on the experience of a girl who wants her stylist to like her and gets talked into a new haircut.
