Lorenzo Fonda

Fonda producing a commercial for Nike

Lorenzo Fonda (born November 28, 1979 in Modena , Italy ) is an Italian film director and artist based in New York City . His work includes documentaries , short films , commercials , music videos, and interactive installations . His versatile cinematic styles and techniques range from stylized live-action sequences to whimsical and humorous animations . Fonda's documentary MEGUNICA has won several prizes.

Life

Lorenzo Fonda spent the first quarter of his life in Italy, where he taught himself the art of filming and illustration. In addition, he has been involved in skateboarding since his early youth , a sport whose dynamic, he says, is still reflected in his works today. At the age of 25 he received a scholarship at the communication research center Fabrica in Treviso , where he deepened his artistic skills and made contacts with artists from all over the world. Soon after completing his studies, he received his first orders from international advertising agencies to work as a director for commercials. In 2013 he moved to New York City.

Artistic work

Music videos, commercials, short films and other TV works

Fonda created music videos for Scissor Sisters , Metronomy , Bright Eyes , Jamie Woon , Bernhard Fleischmann , For a Minor Reflection and Metronomy, among others . He shot commercials for companies such as Nike , MTV and Alfa Romeo as well as for the San Diego Zoo , for which he produced four spots about the twenty newly acquired koalas under the name Koalafornia in 2013 . Fonda's non-commercial work includes short films for World AIDS Day in 2005 and Big Cats Week for the National Geographic Channel , a reminder of how extraordinary the wild and big cats are and to raise awareness of their endangerment . For the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) he created three-minute short films about former club members Wesley Clark ( BE BRAVE ) and Denzel Washington ( BE GRATE ). In December 2008, Fonda crossed the Pacific Ocean on board the Portland Senator cargo ship en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai . His experiences at sea were reflected in the ten-minute video Ten things I have learned about the sea . He accompanied the film with music by the band Hammock from the album Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow .

Fonda counts his work from 2014 on the young Italian singer Son Pascal as one of his most demanding and interesting projects. Pascal went from London to Kazakhstan to take part in a talent show. Although he did not win the show, he stayed in the country and became one of the most famous pop stars in Kazakhstan. The docu-reality series Pascalistan TV Series , which was shown on the Italian broadcaster Deejay Tv , was then shot about Pascal's hectic life . Since this show met with a great response, the show creator Davide Tappero Merlo added a second season, for which Fonda was hired as a director. The BBC later acquired the rights to the format and adapted the season for British television.

"The combination of Pascal's energy, Davide's creative authorial supervision and the unique quality of the place and its people contributed to make this one of the most rewarding project I've ever been part of."

- Lorenzo Fonda on his homepage, 2014

Documentaries

Monument in Gibellina Vecchia

dito

Lorenzo Fonda is best known for his collaboration with the Italian street artist Blu in the film project MEGUNICA . In a mixture of artist portrait and road movie , the 80-minute documentary film from 2008 follows Blu on a trip through South and Central America in autumn / winter 2006 and shows the artist at work. The name MEGUNICA is an acronym of the first letters of the countries visited ME xiko , GU atemala , NI Caragua , C osta Rica and A rgentinien . The aim of the project was to research and document whether and to what extent the different environments and social conditions of the countries he visited influence Blus' creative processes and are reflected in his wall paintings , drawings and animations via a changed perception .

Fonda's second documentary entitled Archeology of the future is in post-production (as of 2014). It deals with the work of art by the material artist Alberto Burri , who died in 1995 , which was created as a spatial composition on the site of the Sicilian city Gibellina , which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968 . In 1981 Burri erected the massive monument over Gibellina Vecchia, the ruins of the old historical part of Gibellina. The ruins were buried under a thick layer of concrete , which has accessible cuts so that the narrow streets of the old streets can still be traced. The documentary reconstructs the history of the work of art and the people involved. With a team of skateboarders , the film crew drives down the gaps in the old alleys and the terrain. Using interviews, archival material, skateboarding material, animated reenactments and fictional segments, Fonda examines the effects of the artwork and its creative process. In addition, the film tries to fathom the essence of art in public space using the example of the work of art and to show how art can outlast people and become a legacy of civilization .

Works (list overview)

Music videos

• sUngria (Italian band) - Prelude , 2003/2004 ( video on YouTube )
• Bernhard Fleischmann - 02/00 , 2006
• Duo505 - something else , 2006
• Bright Eyes - No one would riot for les , May 2007
• For a Minor Reflection - A Mol , May 2010
• Jamie Woon - Night Air , November 2010
• Metronomy - The Look , March 2011
• Scissor Sisters - Only the Horses , April 2012
• Scissor Sisters - Baby Come Home , May 2012

Commercials

• MTV Ident - Tamandua Love , 2004
• Nike , PKO ( Panna KO ), tournament in Italy - 4 commercials, 2005
• Nike, Shox (sports shoe model) - 2 commercials, 2005
• World AIDS Day - PSA (public service announcement), 2005
• Sundek (manufacturer of sporting goods, especially swimwear) - Skip the Winter ( web viral ), 2006
• Sundek - Skip the Winter (TV Ad - Television advertisement ), 2006
• Converse - Giant Leap , 2006
• MTV Load - Handstanding Being - "Trash" , 2006
• Paramount Comedy - Dinosaur NAP Bumper , 2007
• Alfa Romeo - Sloth out , 2007
• Police Eyewear (Italian eyewear company) - Be Younique , 2009
• Nike - Run Unleashed , 2010
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) - BE BRAVE Wesley Clark , 2010
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America - BE GREAT Denzel Washington , 2010
• National Geographic Channel - Big Cats Week , 2011
• Ugg Australia ( Australian subsidiary of Deckers Outdoor Corporation ) - Keep Steppin , 2012
• San Diego Zoo - Koalafornia , 2013; four spots: Koalafornia - Eucalyptus , Koalafornia - Lowrider , Koalafornia - Eucalyptus , Koalafornia - Lifeguard , Koalafornia - Montage

Documentaries

• MEGUNICA , 2008
• Archeology of the future (in production)

More film works

• Short films about life (series) - 5 short films ( Fate, Travel, Love, Friends, Enemies ), music: Ennio Morricone , 2006.
• Festival opener - Opener of the Boston Independent Film Festival, 2007.
• BLU + ERICAILCANE - Video commissioned by the Spatio Razmataz Gallery, Prato , 2007. Short documentation about the illegal night painting of a house wall in Prato by the two street artists.
• King of Empty - part of the PSST! Pass it on , 2008.
• Ten things I have learned about the sea - personal short video, 2008. Music by Hammock from the album Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow .
• WARP20 NYC Documentary - Warp Records ' twentieth anniversary video documentary , 2010.
• The Sound of Heat - short films about the exhibition Art in the streets of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), 2011.
• Deejay Tv / BBC - Pascalistan TV Series , 2014. Direction of the second docu-reality season about the Italian singer Son Pascal.

Books

• A Trumpet and a Feather. Graphic novel. Terracava Publishing House, Milan 2014 (no ISBN).
• Tonight, on planet earth. Mini comic. Self-published, 2014 (no ISBN).
• The uncanny. Graphic novel. Work in progress.

Awards

• MEGUNICA - “Best Creative Documentary” (special award) at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2008
• MEGUNICA - "Special Merit Price" (Special Jury Price) at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2009
• MEGUNICA - “Best Documentary” on the IX. Festival Concorso Iceberg (Visioni Italiane), Bologna 2009.

In addition, MEGUNICA was nominated for the “Grierson Youth Jury Award” at the Sheffield Doc / Fest (Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF)) in 2008.

Web links

• Lorenzo Fonda's homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Homepage of Lorenzo Fonda: Bio. (English).
2. ↑ Interview with Portable.tv (English).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Big Cats Week on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
4. ↑ ^{a b} BE BRAVE Wesley Clark ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
5. ↑ ^{a b} BE GREAT Denzel Washington ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
6. ↑ Ten things I have learned about the sea on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Director of second season on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
8. ↑ MEGUNICA website (English).
9. ↑ James Gaddy: Yo soy grafitero. A street artist from Bologna conquers the New World with brushes and a film crew. In: Culture & Travel , London / New York, October / November 2007 p. 100 ff (English).
10. ↑ Caleb Nilon: Bucket of Blu. In: Swindle Magazine , No. 14, Los Angeles 2007, pp. 86 to 93.
11. ↑ Gibellina on SicilyArt ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , with a list of the intervening artists 
12. ↑ Archeology of the future ( Memento of the original from January 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
13. ↑ Tamandua Love on YouTube
14. ↑ Nike PKO on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda.
15. ↑ Nike Grashopper Race on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
16. ↑ Skip the Winter on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
17. ↑ Giant Leap on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
18. ↑ Handstanding Being - “Trash” on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda.
19. ↑ Dinosaur NAP Bumper on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
20. ↑ Sloth out on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
21. ↑ Be Younique on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
22. ↑ Run Unleashed on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
23. ↑ Keep Steppin on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
24. ↑ Overview of commercials on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
25. ↑ Homepage of Lorenzo Fonda: Moving . See the five entries below on the page.
26. ↑ Festival opener Boston Independent Film Festival ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
27. ↑ BLU + ERICAILCANE on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
28. ↑ King of Empty on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
29. ↑ Ten things I have learned about the sea on YouTube.
30. ↑ WARP20 NYC Documentary on Lorenzo Fonda's homepage.
31. ↑ The Sound of Heat ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
32. ↑ A Trumpet and a Feather ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
33. ↑ Tonight, on planet earth ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
34. ↑ The Uncanny ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Lorenzo Fonda. 
35. ^ IX Iceberg Festival, Bologna. ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. COMUNE DI BOLOGNA. Settore Cultura e rapporti con l'Università del Comune di Bologna. Bologna, 2009 (Italian). 
36. ↑ Screening List . In: MEGUNICA (English).