Good Oil has kicked off 2021 with a substantial boost to its roster, adding four more directors – Renee Mao, Novemba, Tim Green and Sara Dunlop – each with international experience, their own distinctive assets and impressive portfolio of work.
Renee Mao has recently returned to Australia from the US with her flair for tackling emotional, intimate subjects and distinctive visual style. Mao’s PSA, Wishes Need Stars Like You, for Make-A-Wish won Silver in Pro Bono at the 2020 Shorty Social Good Awards. Her film, The Making of Panthera was an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards, won the Opening Night Audience Award at the Nitehawk Shorts Festival and was an Official Selection at Newfest. Her short film, The Last Line, premiered at the 2018 Austin Film Festival and played in festivals such as Oxford Film Festival, NFFTY, Manchester Film Festival and the Miami Short Film Festival. She has a special enthusiasm for films that promote important social messaging, and has directed anthemic spots for March of Dimes, The Woman’s Hospital of Texas and Huffington Post.
“I’m super excited to join this talented roster,” Mao said on signing with Good Oil, “and I’m looking forward to expanding my voice in this market with the incredible team in house. After our first few jobs together it’s safe to say there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Directing duo, Novemba (Blair and Oliver) arrive at Good Oil with a grand portfolio of commercials for major brands such as adidas, Uber, Beats, Samsung, McDonald’s, Bacardi and Bose that illustrate the emotional honesty and striking visual flair of their work. Their talent has led them to work with Adidas, Uber, Beats, Samsung and Bose. Their documentary, Team Khan, was an Official Selection Raindance Film Festival 2018 as well as being nominated for Best UK Feature and Best Cinematography. Their work through Academy Films and Reset Content has been recognised at Cannes, D&AD, The British Arrows and more.
At the beginning of 2019, Tim Green was a senior creative with so many of the right agencies in his history. Impressively, he was working at Venables Bell & Partners and had been a VP creative director at DDB Chicago, an associate creative director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, a senior creative at The Monkeys and a senior art director at DDB Sydney. Then he became a director; a director with more than a decade of creative experience on Skittles, Starburst, Nike, Reebok, PlayStation, NBA, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen, Gatorade, Toyota, Doritos, ComCast, Google, YouTube and IKEA. Understandably, he kicked a goal with his first directing job in June 2019, a quirky commercial for Dollar Shave Club that caused a very big buzz on Father’s Day in the US. His work has come to be characterised by a straight-faced comedic bent with a pinch of surrealism and he has directed campaigns for Taco Bell, TAB, McDonald’s and MoNA.
One of his best assets is “…agency experience. I understand how that world works and the pressure they’re under. As a creative, I always wanted a director to come in with fresh eyes on a project and add a little piece of magic. That’s what I hope to bring.”
Sara Dunlop began turning heads as soon as she became a professional. She was named one of the top 25 Directors to Watch by Creativity magazine after graduating from the University of Westminster. Since then she has won awards at LIA, British Arrows, D&AD, Creative Circle, Cannes Lion and A-list Hollywood craft. Dunlop was the director behind Nike’s hugely applauded spot for Middle Eastern women by Wieden + Kennedy and she has shown her talent for cinematic quality and relatable performance in commercials for brands such as Facebook, Vodafone, Royal Air Force, American Red Cross, Bose, Sky, KFC and Burberry. The Night Before series of three films she co-wrote and directed for Burberry and GQ, were featured in the Hollywood Report, Hype Beast and The Huffington Post. Her short, Dreamland, was selected at over 15 major film festivals and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Dunlop is the British ambassador for Free The Bid.
Sam Long, Good Oil executive producer and partner, commented, “We’re thrilled to welcome these new and engaging voices to our stellar roster. We love that we’re hitting that perfect blend of emerging and established directors, and I can’t wait for our creative partners to work with these immense talents and get just as excited about them as we are.”
For enquiries contact:
SYD – Sam Long at sam@goodoilfilms.com or +61 438 904 277
MELB – Simon Thomas at simon@goodoilfilms.com or +61 438 263 979
NZ – George Mackenzie at george@goodoilfilms.com or +64 21 720 908
