Ash Bolland

New Zealand born, Sydney-based writer/director Ash Bolland is committed to crafting unique and sophisticated work that engages the viewer with its originality and cross cultural reach.

Bolland has recently worked on the Fox Searchlight feature film The East from executive produces Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and Michael Costigan. Earlier this year, the film premiered at Sundance to huge audiences where it received rave reviews. Featuring a star studded cast including Brit Marling, Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard, The East is slated for a summer theatrical release in the US.

The director’s latest ad campaign for HSBC via JWT London was shot over five days in Hong Kong during February 2013. Promoting the bank’s sponsorship of Hong Kong's Rugby 7s, Bolland’s campaign landed front page coverage on Shots and Campaign (UK) on the day of its recent release.

In 2011, Bolland was named a finalist at the Shots New Director Award for his 'Genetically Modified' indents for MTV, which … read morewon over the judges with their innovative use of integrated live action, design and animation.

With a complimentary background in 3D art and graphic design, Bolland's distinct style lends itself to inventive campaigns that draw on a number of design disciplines, including the integrated film project ‘Simple Plan’, which he directed last year for MTV Exit Foundation (USAID, AUSAID & Walk Free). The film went on to be released globally in 68 countries.

As the owner of independent creative studio Umeric for almost a decade, Bolland was also the head designer and his work has been widely followed and referenced around the world. His projects have been showcased internationally in Shots, Creativity Online, AdAge, BestAdsOnTV, Campaign Brief, LBB Online along with Slash Film in New Zealand and Creative Magazine in Australia.

Highlight projects include his award winning work for MTV along with more commercially driven projects such as HP ‘Meet or Delete’ (with MTV International), Swatch ‘Playground’, a Man vs Wild spot for Discovery Channel and Coca-Cola’s 'Burn - Never Extinguish', which featured in Australia's Top 100 Short Films at the St Kilda Film Festival.

With a slew of PromaxBDA Gold and Silver awards in multiple categories under his belt, from Best Overall Ad Campaign to Best 3D Animation Design, Bolland's work in the US and further abroad has not gone unnoticed. He has set the screen alight for major clients Coca-Cola, HSBC, Discovery Channel, HBO and Unilever, to name a few.

"I love directing and the process; bringing something to life and creating something that people have not seen before that will make them look at life a little differently," Bolland said. "I love the idea of creating work that can affect people on an emotion level. That makes all the hard work worth it."
read less...