Robert Kenner--a DGA Award nominee in 2010 for Food, Inc., which also earned him a Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination--has landed his first representation as a commercialmaker, joining the directorial roster of Venice-based Saville Productions.
Food, Inc. examines corporate farming and the unhealthy agribusiness practices that plague the overall health of Americans and is harmful to the environment, employees and animals. The film scored assorted other honors including winning the Gotham Award for Best Documentary and being nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Outstanding Documentary.
In addition to the much lauded Food, Inc., Kenner also directed and served as a producer on the “Two Days in October” episode of American Experience, which won a primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking in 2006. His other prestigious documentaries include Merchants of Doubt, When Strangers Click, and Command and Control, the latter winning him (along with Erc Schlosser, Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts) a Writers Guild Award for Best Documentary Screenplay this year. Merchants of Doubt earned Kenner a Producers Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures in 2015.
Kenner said he’s excited over the prospect of making nonfiction reality-based spots for agencies via Saville. “I like to bring out the honesty in people -- getting to the core of what is real.” Kenner feels that the type of incisive look into real life that his films offer is especially pertinent for today’s commercials. “There is a certain authenticity that is lacking in the world of advertising lately,” he related.
Rupert Maconick, Saville EP/founder, observed, “Documentary filmmaking excellence easily translates into award-winning campaigns.” He added that Kenner is among the leading documentarians in the marketplace today.
Saville has produced numerous content projects for major brands with high- profile filmmakers, including: Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), Paul Haggis (Crash), Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) and Fernando Meirelles (City of God).
Saville produced the Werner Herzog feature-length documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World for NetScout. The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, was acquired for worldwide distribution by Magnolia Pictures, and has won three Cannes Lions. Saville co-produced Eddie The Eagle, starring Hugh Jackman, distributed by Fox and Lionsgate. Saville’s cinematic short film Out There, directed by Haggis for luxury apparel maker Canada Goose, won a Cannes Gold Lion.
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