Olivia Altavilla captures the humanity in people. Akkomplice and Grove Juice recognised it when they chose her to direct Get Up To Some Good. Ogilvy and Wallace Bishop recognised it when they chose her to direct a Christmas campaign built around the joy of meaningful gift-giving within families. It’s recognisable too in Olivia’s most recent work, Dolly’s Dream, to end bullying.

Olivia also understands the power of emotion, passion and honesty. These are built into her Italian and Venezuelan heritage and an unorthodox family life that taught her to have deep empathy and a unique perspective on things. Lastly, there’s her attention to detail, finding the tiny moments that relate to audiences. These draw audiences into her stories because they are warm and inviting and real.

All of these make the distinctive freedom of Olivia’s work. Creative lead, Glenn Dalton, worked with Olivia on Grove Juice. He explained, “In early chats with Oly, we agreed the ad had to have a looseness to it. ‘Glossy perfection’ was to be avoided at all costs. We wanted to be among the chaos of life rather than curating it too much. Understanding that it’s easy to overcook slice-of-life ads, we wanted to focus less on the icing, and more on the crumbs. The messy, but just as tasty bits. Oly delivered that abundantly.”

For The Producers creative director, Luke Thompson, what sets Olivia’s work apart is its authenticity. He says he found a gem when he joined the company and that admiration has only grown.

“I’ve worked with lots of directors while working in agencies both locally and abroad and found it’s always a difficult balancing act to make moments (that are inevitably set up) feel truly real and relatable, without losing the thread of a brand message. The skill of making these captivating moments feel effortless is a rare commodity that Oly has in spades,” he stated.

“When I joined The Producers, Tanya and Noelle took me through the full roster of directors. I was immediately drawn to Oly’s reel and the genuine way she tells stories. It starts with the very personal way she relates to ideas, leaning on her experiences to create her vision in the treatments. This then flows through to the meticulous detail that goes into her pre- and post-production, allowing everyone to feel comfortable enough for authentic spontaneity to occur on set and candid storytelling to come through in the edit.

“We’ve created a really strong working relationship over the past few years. Together we explore every beat of a script forensically to expose all of its charm and interest.”

Olivia took The Stable into her inner world where that authentic spontaneity and the power to make human connections are cultivated:

The Stable: The people in your work, characters or real, connect with people. How do you go about achieving this? 

Olivia Altavilla: As a director, more than anything, I’m drawn to capturing human connection. All my choices, whether it be the textures in a location, how our camera moves, or the subtle objective shifts I feed talent, come down to how I want a single moment to feel and connect with people. When I’m watching a take on set, I’m looking for that feeling – that’s how I judge if we have it. Often, that moment isn’t exactly as scripted, and that excites me: the nuance and detail that makes it feel real.

The Stable: As you’ve grown and developed as a commercials director, what have been the most important things you have taken on board?

Olivia Altavilla: As I’ve grown and developed as a director, I’ve learned to own my approach. I’m a gentle director with a lot of empathy, but I’m also extremely detail-oriented and have a very clear vision. I’ve learned to embrace my empathy and the instincts that accompany it. I confidently let that drive my work today, in ways I perhaps doubted when I was starting out. 

The Stable: What are the most important “ingredients” for you in a TVC? How do you blend them into your films?

Olivia Altavilla: The most important ingredients for me are great casting, the right team, and ‘life’s wrinkles’. I really like to tailor my casting approach to suit each project. I love working with actors, but for many jobs like Dolly’s Dream and Grove Juice, there’s a truth in those performances that comes from them being real people from a rural town, and I love leaning into that. In comparison, something like Wallace Bishop needs brilliantly talented actors like young Saffron to take us on the journey.

The crew I chose to work with on each job is also crucial to me. For instance, I love working with cinematographers who are as driven by feeling as I am. I’m always looking for work with a human quality and an eye for unique frames.

I also love to make sure all my work is filled with life’s wrinkles – details that make each moment feel authentic. I plan and annotate (with the team) all my storyboards with details in the frame that communicate the imperfection and specificity of real life. I’ve had a beautiful upbringing but it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve found that hardship has given me a lot of perspective. I’m much more grateful for the little things and I notice more. For instance, my gorgeous Nanna will always coordinate the colour of her hat (that hides her alopecia) with her top. It’s the human details, like the way a kid would dress themselves with patterned socks and a leftover costume accessory. They’re subtle human details, but for me, this is the difference between capturing the feeling of real life and something that feels disconnected.

To work with Olivia, or for any enquiries please contact Noelle Jones or Tanya Spencer at The Producers.