ADFEST 2019 is fast approaching and we’re counting down the days until it officially starts. The program is out, the speakers and sessions have been shared, and the jury names have been announced. In the next few days leading up to ADFEST’s official opening, we’ll be sharing everything you need to know about the biggest advertising conference in Southeast Asia, happening in Pattaya, Thailand.
Sponsor
Jury President: Ali Brown
Partner & Executive Producer, PRETTYBIRD, Los Angeles
Brown began her career in the commercial and music video industry before moving over to feature films where she served as Director of Creative Affairs at Spirit Dance, a production company helmed by veteran director/actor/producer Forest Whitaker. Upon her return to advertising, she helped build the PRETTYBIRD roster and reputation, expanding its reach across commercials, short films, features, web series, and music videos. PRETTYBIRD’s work has been recognized worldwide, including by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the One Show, the Clio Awards, the London International Awards, D&AD, British Arrows, the AICP Awards, as well as being named Creativity Magazine’s Top Production Company of the Year for 2015.
Aki Mizutani
Director & Editor, Cutters Studios, Tokyo
In 2011 she was tapped by director Lucy Walker to cut the Oscar-nominated documentary, ‘The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom’. The film focuses on the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.
Since then Aki has built her portfolio as a director, crafting engaging work for major brands such as Apple, Adidas, Facebook, Tiger Beer, Barney’s New York, Yahoo, Google, UberEATS, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Gloire, and SK-II. Aki makes it a point to keep her editing skills well-honed, recently cutting campaigns for Beats by Dre, AIG, Toyota and Shiseido.
In 2014, she co-founded the production and branding studio, Wise Lama, where she is producer and director. Nike, Samsung, Chevrolet, Colgate, and Honda are just a few of the high-profile brands she has worked for so far.
Among her many notable achievements, Kay became the first Thai director to make a short film for Cornetto Global’s ‘Cupidity’ project in 2015. The landmark campaign, which consists of a series of short, but sweet, love stories, won a Cannes Lions Award in the Branded Content and Entertainment category. The talented director is also a writer on Netflix’s first Thai Language original series, The Stranded, in partnership with GMM Grammy, which is set to launch next year.
Karla Henwood
Executive Producer, Nylon Studios, Sydney
Behind a raft of award winning work as executive producer of highly-acclaimed sound house, Nylon Studios, Karla is responsible for nurturing the growth of some of the country’s most awarded sound and music talent and, throughout her ten year tenure, has played an integral role in bolstering Nylon’s international service offering across its Sydney, Melbourne and New York studios.
In the past year alone, Karla has helped lead Nylon to produce five Gold and five Silver Cannes Lions winning campaigns, including Tide Super Bowl TVC ‘Terry Bradshaw’, a year that also saw the studio nominated for two Emmy Awards for its work on Ad Council campaign ‘Love Has No Labels’ and Amazon program ‘The Man in the High Castle: Resistance Radio’.
Maged Nasser
Film Director, Good People, Cairo
Now directing full time, Maged has helmed award-winning spots for global brands such as Coke, Vodafone, Orange, and Du. Co-founded Good People along with his life time partner Ali Ali and Pierre Mouarkech in 2016. He plays two roles within Good People, he’s acting ECD for Good People Content and one of Good People Films directors. In his career he’s collected twelve Cannes lions, fourteen D&AD Pencils, an ADC black cube Best of Show, Grand Prix at London International Awards, Gold One Show Pencil and over other 90 global awards. Seeking global challenges as a director, Maged just signed with Moxie Pictures New York / London, Premiere Heure Paris and Moon Warsaw.
Man Chung Chan
Film Director, The Film Factory Ltd., Hong Kong
In pursuit of his ideals and eager to face new challenges, he joined Film Factory in 1999 and started his directorial career. Over the last two decades, he directed numerous works for various renowned brands and clients, displaying his repertoire both locally and internationally. His passion in filmmaking gained worldwide recognition, winning multiple awards on some of the biggest stages including HK4A’s, Longxi, Asia Media & Marketing, D&AD London, Cannes Europe, NY Festival New York and so on.
Suresh Eriyat
Director, Studio EEKSAURUS, Mumbai
He led teams for over two decades that has created animation films in 2D, 3D and pioneered Clay/Stop motion animation in advertising films in India, at a time when animation was relatively a new medium in the country as compared to the West. With his firm belief in the design process for communication solutions, Suresh has been instrumental in creating animated ad films by going beyond the traditional techniques and storytelling conventions that were popular then in India. His path breaking exploration of new visual styles to tell things differently yet effectively is perhaps the reason for an audience and a whole new industry that heralds an exciting phase of Indian animation.
