Director Tamir Moscovici has joined talent agency The Directors Network for commercials and branded content in the U.S. His credits as of late span such brands as: McDonald’s McCafe for agency Cossette; a real-people campaign for Ford Canada; Dove and Hellmann’s out of Ogilvy Canada; a seven-spot Tim Hortons campaign for GUT Agency USA; Nicoderm for Grey USA; and Kraft as well as Wonder Bread for Rethink Canada.
Moscovici has also had a hand in much acclaimed work, including his “Not Allowed” spot for Moms Demand Action, part of a campaign which at the 2015 Cannes International Ad Fest earned nine Lions–four Gold, four Silver and one Bronze. Produced by Spy Films in Toronto–which continues to handle Moscovici in the Canadian market–the Moms Demand Action :60, the centerpiece of the campaign, shows customers being informed they cannot be in a grocery store with certain items such as a skateboard in the case of a young man traversing the aisles, a water gun for a boy sitting in a shopping cart, and a dog brought in by a woman who is told her pet potentially compromises food safety. Meanwhile a man is able to work through the store with a gun strapped to his back. According to the Grey Toronto-conceived piece, at that time open carrying of firearms was permitted in Kroger supermarkets while skateboards and the like were prohibited items per company policy.
More recently the Moscovici-helmed Dove Men+Care documentary campaign chronicling five dads caring for their newborn children over a five-week stretch was shortlisted for two Cannes Film Lions last year while also gaining inclusion on the 2019 Clio Awards shortlist. Produced by Spy for Ogilvy Canada, the campaign presented a highly personal perspective capturing the joy of caring while inspiring other fathers to #TakeTheTime.
Fare directed by Moscovici earlier in his career also gained plaudits including Molson Canadian’s “Hockey Heaven” which took home Gold and Silver Clios; and KAZ–Pushing the Virtual Divide, a feature film about Kazunori Yamauchi (the architect of Sony PlayStation’s Gran Turismo video game) which won Gold for Branded Entertainment at the London International Awards.
The Gran Turismo piece came to Moscovici after the success of his passion project Urban Outlaw, a visceral, filmic short about automotive enthusiast and eclectic Porsche collector Magnus Walker. The short piqued the interest of Porsche itself and resulted in Moscovici turning out a film for the carmaker.
Over the years, Moscovici has applied his visual and storytelling acumen to work for assorted clients including Acura Canada, Air Canada, Audi, BMW Canada, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors, Expedia, McDonald’s, Honda Canada and Subaru.
Moscovici benefited from both a formal and real-world education. He studied at Montreal’s Concordia University Film School. He then spent the better part of a decade working in the camera department on films with cinema icons such as John Woo, David Cronenberg and other mainstays of the Toronto film community. Moscovici also served as an ad agency producer in Canada, learning that side of the business first-hand, an experience that helped to inform him as a commercial director.
The Directors Network
Moscovici, who had previously been represented in the American ad arena by production company Moxie Pictures, said he gravitated toward The Directors Network for the opportunity to continue building his career with the help of the talent agency’s owner/agent Jeff Lewis, and for the flexibility its business model provides, being nimble and able to connect him with a production company best suited for a particular job or to facilitate his working with an ad agency for its higher-end in-house production projects, or dovetailing with a brand for a client-direct assignment.
Moscovici assessed that The Directors Network “casts a wide net” for work, which can only prove advantageous for a director in an increasingly competitive marketplace, particularly in the U.S. where both homegrown and international filmmakers are vying for business. He reasoned that the variety of projects and relationships afforded him by The Directors Network is more in sync with the realities of the American ad market which now, for instance, has a higher percentage of in-house agency jobs carrying healthy budgets as well as ambitious creative.
The Directors Network has been ahead of the curve with a track record of cultivating varied opportunities dating back to its inception in 1985, connecting freelance directing talent not only with viable, worthwhile projects but also the right production house to help bring that particular work to fruition.
Lewis has fashioned personal relationships with The Directors Network’s roster of directors, director/DPs and cinematographers, visiting their sets and helping to chart and navigate progressive career paths for them.
Moscovici was turned onto The Directors Network by his friend and frequent collaborator as a DP, Anthony Arendt. Moscovici recalled that Arendt, who’s repped by The Directors Network, told him that Lewis helped manage and build his career, forming a partnership that went well beyond just being an agent. Moscovici then met Lewis and the two struck up a rapport. The director could see the benefit of having Lewis and the talent agency model work for him in the U.S., a realization which, said Lewis, has sparked an influx of mature reels and high-profile directors seeking out The Directors Network, helping to raise the bar at the company across such disciplines and genres as emotional storytelling, automotive, visually driven and people fare.
