2017 Superlounge Diversity Award Winner Announced

A Superlounge Diversity Award winner has been announced for 2017: LA-based production company Superlounge will send Jody Lauren Miller (pic., l.) to Commercial Directing Bootcamp, March 11, in Los Angeles. “Jody's a filmmaker with hustle, so I know she'll put the bootcamp knowledge to great use in getting to the next level,” said Superlounge director Jordan Brady, who launched the Commercial Directing Bootcamp in 2016, holding sold-out seminars in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Austin and Dallas. The March 11 event will be Brady’s last Bootcamp until the fall; the filmmaker plans to focus on the release of his latest comedy doc, "I AM BATTLE COMIC." The film follows Brady and a squadron of stand-ups overseas to perform for troops serving in the US Armed Forces. It will begin screening in select cities throughout the Spring. 

In response to the lack of female, minority and LGBT directors at the helm of filmed advertising, the scholarship was launched by Superlounge to help expose these filmmakers to the insights offered by the successful seminar. Filmmakers’ reels were judged on the following criteria:

• -Quality of storytelling;

-Need for exposure to industry, tools & information; and 

-Passion for making ads.

“While others talk about the diversity problem, we are attacking it, one filmmaker at a time,” Brady said. With nearly 1,000 national TV commercials to his credit, and counting, the director feels an obligation to share what he’s learned. “Yes, we live in a world of tighter budgets where everyone is a ‘filmmaker’,” he said. “But the path to a healthy industry is openness, mentoring and an embrace of community. There are no secrets in a shared economy.”

“I’ve been a longtime listener of Jordan’s podcast, and was instantly on board the moment I saw he was doing a workshop,” said Filmmaker Jeff Hoferer, who attended Brady’s first LA bootcamp. “He did not disappoint. I’ve never met a director of Jordan’s caliber who’s so willing to share insight into the industry he works in. It’s truly refreshing.” Another alum, Brian Petcher, became a 2016 Cannes Young Director Award Nominee after attending the NYC bootcamp and applying techniques and advice learned.

Last November, Superlounge sent two filmmakers - Monty Marsh and Kristyna Archer - to the Bootcamp.