Director Paul Trillo Joins ArtClass For US Representation

Bicoastal production company ArtClass has signed director Paul Trillo to their roster for US commercial and branded content representation. Trillo is an LA-based director who challenges both curiosity and illusion. His varied interests in technology, comedy, and visual design permeate throughout his work as he is in constant pursuit of new filmmaking techniques – from creating the first fully mobile bullet-time camera rig with 50 Nokia phones to choreographing an aerial smoke show using drones. Paul has directed commercials and branded content for an array of brands, including Adobe, eBay, Ford, Google, Nissan, Starbucks, Squarespace, and Uber, to name a handful. At ArtClass, projects for GoDaddy, ESPN, Hotels.com, Panda Express, and Dell are already underway.


“It’s exciting to bring a director like Paul on board who creates with the spirit of a true artist,” says ArtClass executive producer Rebecca Niles. “With his multidisciplinary background and experimental approach to storytelling, he is the perfect fit for ArtClass and we’re thrilled to have him on our roster.”


“ArtClass is a creative playground that truly lives up to its namesake,” adds Paul. “It’s great to be at a place that recaptures the feeling of everything I loved about art school, being immersed in a supportive creative environment where you’re pushing each other to experiment and produce artistically-minded work with a strong point of view. This ethos is no more apparent than in [ArtClass Partners] Geno Imbriale and Vincent Peone’s willingness to fight for every job, big or small. They are clever at making things work and have the talent to back it up. Seeing how they’ve built their roster over last year only solidified my interest in joining the team.”


Paul has written and directed brand films for Microsoft, Samsung, and Olympus -- the latter of which was a Tribeca X Award finalist. He is passionate about pushing branded content to new frontiers and is an avid speaker on the subject, including a SXSW panel discussion he co-hosted with longtime collaborator Vimeo Brand Studio.

Paul was most recently represented in the US by Big Block and is currently represented by IC Content in France. Following freelance work with Google Creative Labs, he catapulted into the commercial production mainstream on the heels of his experimental short film, Living Moments, with Nokia Brand Labs. The film was shortlisted in the D&AD Next Director Awards and won Best Mobile Film at the One Screen Festival. Trillo went on to win The One Show’s prestigious 'One to Watch' award in 2015.


Tallying 17 Vimeo Staff Picks to date, Paul has written and directed 11 original short films and documentaries, many of which have screened at Cannes, Tribeca, The One Show, Palm Springs International Shorts Fest, and Oxford Film Festival. His more recent works of praise include the short film Until There Was Nothing (2020) and the music video for 'The Great Divide' by The Shins (produced during the pandemic).


Bridging his experience directing both original and branded content, Paul looks forward to taking on more projects that bring him into the ideation and scripting phase, while satisfying his urge to produce more narrative and character-driven films in the comedy and drama space.

“I tend to bring my best work when I have a larger stake in the creative vision, knowing that none of it is possible without a collaborative, like-minded team like ArtClass to pull it off,” says Paul. “I know this from having worked on various projects with Geno and Vince over the years. We share a lot of sensibilities in our approach as storytellers, both technically and creatively, so I know great things lie ahead.”


“Paul’s mind is an infinite zoom of M.C. Escher paintings,” concludes Peone. “A master storyteller, virtuoso of camera technique, and first-rate dancer, Paul is everything ArtClass could ever hope for in a collaborator.”