Commercial and feature film production company Sanctuary Content and its founder/managing director Preston Lee have experienced two related milestones–the arrival of EP/partner Preston Garrett and a new wave of long form development and production in 2026 and beyond. The convergence of these milestones is not a coincidence, but a long-term strategy by Lee to produce both films and brand content with, and for, Sanctuary’s storytelling roster.
“PG [Preston Garrett] and I met because the universe wanted it to happen,” said Lee. “When we met we were both looking for the same thing: a partner whose perspective and values were aligned and complementary. Ask and ye both shall receive–and you might even find someone with the same weird name.”
As EP/partner, Garrett now oversees Sanctuary’s commercial operations while Lee shepherds feature development and production. Collectively, Lee and Garrett have executive produced branded work for leading brands and agencies: Apple, GM, Farmer’s Dog, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Progressive, Nike, Kia, and Jeep, as well as the likes of Wieden+Kennedy, BBDO, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Anomaly, Arts&Letters, High Dive, and many more.
Garrett joins Sanctuary after serving as executive producer and managing director of the former commercial boutique Rakish, where he executive produced Titanium Lion and Grand Prix award-winning campaigns, as well as work honored at Sundance, the AICP Show, D&AD, the Clios, and more. His Titanium-honored collaboration with FCB Chicago’s Caption with Intention was also recognized and honored by the Motion Picture Academy at the 2025 Scientific and Technical Oscars.
“Preston [Lee] and I quickly discovered that we’ve had the same vision at the same time throughout our careers,” said Garrett. “We’ve both pursued the dream of commercials and features under one roof, but as the sole head of our respective operations. We’re now approaching the dream with the same spirit, zeal, fervor–but each of us with better defined, intelligently narrowed focus.”
While growth and roster expansion are Garrett’s top priorities for 2026 (as Lee spearheads parallel growth in features), the Prestons stress that Sanctuary’s boutique nature will remain intact–namely to foster closeness with their directors, as well as providing the bespoke touch to agency and brand relationships that’s more necessary than ever in the current marketplace.
Garrett comes aboard his new roost on the cusp of the theatrical premiere of the feature film Omaha, produced by Sanctuary and Lee, and directed by Sanctuary’s Cole Webley (premiering at the IFC Center in New York on April 24). After a critically lauded festival premiere in the dramatic competition at Sundance in 2025, Omaha went on to over 50 festivals worldwide and won more than a dozen of them. The success of the film has launched a new era for Sanctuary in the independent film world and was preceded by the 2024 body-horror-comedy Booger, written and directed by Sanctuary’s director Mary Dauterman and executive produced by Sanctuary and Lee.
As Lee said, “When Sanctuary was founded in 2016, the vision was to make films and ads and do both with the same passion and drive for strong storytelling. That was always the aspiration. After 10 years of very patiently and strategically chipping away at that vision, we’ve now fully arrived and could not be more excited about the convergence of the two worlds.”
With the success of Omaha, Sanctuary’s 2026 could easily be defined by features, with the film The Sandy Banks currently in production in the West of Ireland; and another film, Until The Sun Rises, written and to be directed by the TAO/S, slated to shoot this fall in Nashville. But to Lee, the timely arrival of Garrett is a doubling down on the core mission of Sanctuary: ads and branded filmmaking are literally the cornerstone of Sanctuary’s production and development model.
Garrett remarked, “Cinema’s my first love, but the prolific nature of commercials gives me more joy. The process of closely and strategically collaborating with directors to solve ‘the commercial puzzle’ is where I find flow. To have the opportunity to partner with Professor Lee and bring that flow to what he’s built over the past 10 years feels all kinds of right. Everything in my journey has led up to this.”
Especially in the face of AI disruption in advertising, media holding company mergers, and more, as both Prestons are quick to add. The new era of Sanctuary is defined by watching and listening to the market closely but not reacting to it haphazardly.
“PG and I could both tell you from our own experiences that ‘reacting’ is typically fear-based,” said Lee. “‘Responding’ is informed by wisdom, a little patience, and clarity. That’s our mantra now more than ever.”
