Montreal director Manon Briand, fresh from her award-winning feature film 2 Secondes, has accepted the 30-second challenge. Montreal’s Voodoo Arts has added Briand to its roster of directors, which now includes 18 names.

Stephanie Lord, vp and executive producer for Voodoo, explains the thinking behind the addition. ‘We represent [Toronto spot shop] Radke Films’ roster of directors exclusively for Montreal. At the same time, we wanted some good local talent that we could represent. It’s always very interesting to have new talent in the advertising business. They see things with a different eye. For them, it’s fun. They’re doing it because they want to do it – when they’re available to do it and when the project fits them.’

Indeed, Briand is both fresh and skilled. The director, who’s ‘never done advertising before,’ is an ‘extremely talented woman,’ says Lord. In fact, she was listed among Variety Magazine’s top 50 most-promising directors and craftspeople of cinema.

Lord is confident Briand will have little difficulty adapting to the spot universe.

‘She thinks it’s a great challenge. She’s extremely talented. She writes her own movies and she directs them. For sure, in advertising it’s different. You take somebody’s idea and transform it. But I think she’s very mature and intelligent [enough] to understand that kind of process and be very comfortable with it.’

If Briand is comfortable with advertising, the question becomes is advertising comfortable with a female director.

‘Advertising is still very much a man’s business,’ Lord begins. ‘I’ve always encouraged more women in the advertising business, but it’s very hard [for female directors to break into the business]. Even with more and more women creatives in agencies, unfortunately, we still have that problem. Even [with] clients, advertising hasn’t evolved very much in that sense.’

Lord will work hard to sell Briand’s skills in the Montreal ad market.

‘For now, we’re exposing the fact that we have her and I’m doing presentations with her stuff. I don’t have that much because most of it is film. But I just present a trailer of her 2 Secondes and, of course, people in Montreal know of her,’ Lord says.

Briand was in South America and unavailable for comment.

www.voodooarts.com