Director Lenny Dorfman–whose work has garnered Cannes Gold Lions, honors at D&AD, The One Show, AICP Show and BTAA, as well as a DGA Award nomination–has joined Hungry Man for global representation. His credits span such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, IBM, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and GE. Among his more recent endeavors are campaigns for Chase out of mcgarrybowen, Bank of America for Y&R, New York Lottery via DDB, and Verizon for McCann NY.
Dorfman made his initial industry mark shooting and directing documentaries. His first films, Dancing With Angels, The Lost Cowboys and The Youngest Cowboy, were commissioned by Canal Plus France and broadcast and distributed globally. Dorfman developed and directed the pilot episode to Sundance Channel’s critically acclaimed television series Iconoclasts, that featured Tom Ford + Jeff Koons. The series ran for six seasons and has been distributed globally. Dorfman scripted and directed a film and ad campaign starring French football legend Zinedine Zidane on behalf of Qatar’s historic 2022 FIFA World Cup bid. The emotional film combined the most intimate with the historic, capturing the essence of sport’s ability to bring people together and was credited with helping to bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time.
Dorfman had most recently been represented by production house O Positive. Prior to that, he was on the RSA roster after a lengthy tenure with @radical.media. It was at the latter roost that he worked on Iconoclasts and where he landed his aforementioned DGA nomination in 2001 for Best Commercial Director of the Year. He became a DGA nominee on the strength of such work as his two Summer Olympic-themed IBM spots–”Harlem Fencer” and “Senegal Women’s Basketball”–for Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
Among Dorfman’s other notable credits are the Village Voice’s 2012 Cannes Gold Lion-winning campaign “New York Writes Itself” for Leo Burnett, NY, Coca-Cola’s “The Commentary” in which we feel the passion of a blind football fan in a stadium, and Volkswagen’s “Grand Slam,” a subtle comedic spot which demonstrates the car’s remarkable sturdiness through the unabashed habits of its door-slamming owner.
Comedic Director Roderick Fenske Joins Yard Dog TV For U.S. Spot Work
Roderick Fenske, the award-winning agency copywriter/creative director turned comedic director of commercials and films, has joined Yard Dog TV for U.S. representation.
Fenske--known for his idiosyncratic casting, stylish art direction, and blend of practical and digital effects--saw his newest commercial work, for Drink Weird Ice Tea, break earlier this month. His most recent short film, I’m Dead, You’re Welcome, starring JR Russell, Taissa Zveiter, Sandy Eels, and Julia Lorpriore, is making the rounds of film festivals now, having won Best Comedy Short at the Flagstaff International Film Festival last month.
Fenske, who started out in the business as a copywriter, is one of a select group of agency creatives to have found success in both New York and London, where his last post was as a creative director at TBWA there. “I owe so much of my career to Trevor Beattie [TBWA London chairman/creative director at the time], because he believed in me and started my career directing commercials,” said Fenske, citing work for Sony PlayStation, French Connection UK, and Channel 5.
Those spots led to an invitation to become a member of the visionary Swedish film collective known as ACNE. “I learned so much there working in a directing collective. With everybody talking about how to make stuff look stylish and cinematic it was like a film school for me,” Fenske explained. “Production design is so important because humor can be much more unexpected when you have an elevated look.”
Over the course of his career, Fenske’s work has received many international awards from shows including the Cannes Lions, British D&AD, and AICP. He moved from London to Los Angeles, and during this time he met Yard Dog... Read More