Director Matt Lenski’s “Meaning of Robots”

The documentary “Meaning of Robots” will make it’s world premiere at the upcoming annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  Directed by recently signed Supply&Demand Integrated’s Matt Lenski, the film’s humorous character exploration will be one of the 32 U.S. short films selected for the festival.
 

“Meaning of Robots” profiles the benevolent Mike Sullivan, who’s been attempting to shoot a stop-motion robot sex film in his small apartment for the last 10 years. Obsessed with constructing the miniature robot porn stars, his apartment overflows with thousands of robots leaving only tiny paths for him to walk, and no place to film. 
 

Lenski met Sullivan after hiring him to build a miniature set for a Burger King spot with agency Crispin Porter Bogusky.  Pleased with his craftsmanship and looking for collaboration on another art project, the director later met up with the talented model maker at Sullivan’s small studio in New York City.  Lenski is often drawn to characters with well-defined idiosyncratic personalities and it was not surprising where the inspiration for Robots came from.  “I was amazed with what I saw when I visited Mike,” recalls Lenski. “What I found was a man dedicated, overwhelmed, slightly lost and happy to share it with honesty and a little humor… I also found thousands of robots with wieners.”

 

“Meaning of Robots” may be described as a documentary film about a film. Lenski was cautiously aware not to exploit, but rather expose an interesting stop-motion concept while accurately presenting a character, “There's something unerringly honest about him and his robot epic. It’s something I can’t help but respect.” 
 

As a director, writer and actor, Lenski is known for his deadpan, often irreverent, comedic film projects.  Whether scripted or real, his work tends to study and explore unusual and peculiar characters. “Meaning of Robots” is Lenski’s first venture into documentary filmmaking and he hints at the potential for a feature where “Meaning of Robots 2.0” could delve even deeper into Sullivan’s process.  
 

Lenski’s recent work includes completion of a BabyGanics project with Gerry Graf’s latest agency venture, BFG 9000.  He also just wrapped his first fashion film for menswear designer Alexander Olch, and is currently working on a project with Richard Kirshenbaum’s new creative agency, Nue Studio Group.
 

Lenski has directed wonderfully deviant commercials for a broad range of clients and brands such as Subway, Comcast and EA Sports.  He’s been credited for versatile film projects, including “F*ck New York”, a viral parody about the Presidency of George W. Bush. His short film “Style Wars: The Musical” premiered with the "Art in the Streets" exhibit at the MOCA in Los Angeles.  Now on it’s world tour, the exhibit features paintings, mixed media sculptures and interactive installations by an unprecedented group of street artists, including Banksy and Shepard Fairey. Additionally, during his time as creative director at MTV, Lenski was responsible for numerous campaigns and music videos for artists such as Band of Horses and Regina Spektor.

WATCH the “Meaning of Robots” 
www.sdintegrated.com/content/viewVideo/Commercials/MattLenski/MeaningOfRobots/Teaser

Directed by: Matt Lenski

Camera: Shawn Regruto

Editor: Georgia Dodson

Colorist: Gregory Reese

Composer: Jimmy Harned

Mix: Evan Mangiamele

Titles: Gary Breslin / ODD