London, September 2016
B-Reel Films London are delighted to announce they have signed Director Alma Har'el. The B-Reel group began operations in 1999 in Stockholm Sweden and currently has offices in the London, LA, NY, Stockholm, Barcelona and Berlin. In January 2016, Margo Mars joined the London office of B-Reel Films as MD and Partner, and has been focussed on growing its business & director roster ever since
Alma Har'el has caused waves of excitement throughout the film industry with her latest feature film 'LoveTrue', which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in April 2016, and won Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary. 'LoveTrue' had its UK Premier at the BFI London Film Festival on 8 October. The film was selected for the Grierson Award in the documentary competition category, and was part of the official programme.
For 'LoveTrue' Har'el collaborated with Shia LaBeouf, an early supporter of her work since starring in the promo she directed for Sigur Ros 'Fjoger Piano'. LaBeouf is Executive Producer of 'LoveTrue'.
Har'el made a name for herself with a unique aesthetic evident in her debut film 'Bombay Beach', which won top prize at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Her commercial work reinforces her effortless grasp of narrative, in particular her iconic Stella Artois spot, making her the first female director to direct a commercial for the Belgian Beer in its 20 year history of advertising.
Born in Israel and based in New York, Har'el was selected as a Filmmaker 25 New Face of cinema, and the debut of 'TrueLove' at Tribeca prompted Indiewire to comment: "LoveTrue confirms that Alma Har'el makes movies like nothing else out there."
This talented director is not only proving herself to be an aesthetic and cinematic game changer, but is also a force to be reckoned with in the advertising industry. Today Har'el announces #FreeTheBid, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at encouraging ad agencies to include female directors at the bidding stage for commercials. At the pitch stage, ad agencies traditionally present 3 directors per spot. Directors are presented by production companies based on the creative spec the agency provides, and statistics prove female directors are not included in the 3 director mix.
Alma Har'el teamed up with PJ Pereira, CCO and Co-Founder of Pereira & O'Dell, to address the deep-rooted gender bias embedded in the ad industry, and came up with #FreeTheBid, a pledge to advertising agencies to make 1 bid out of every 3 a female director. Women are the number one consumer group and make 85% of product purchase decisions, so why aren't more women directing the commercials addressed at them? Cultural misrepresentations and stereotyping of women and girls are reinforced through the predominantly male narrative presented in the majority of commercials. Women make up 50% of the world's population, yet only 7% of directors are women. #FreeTheBid aims to change this.
http://www.b-reelfilms.com/projects/commercials/director/alma-harel/region/uk/