TORONTO, ONTARIO – OCTOBER 15, 2024 – Who will be the next great Canadian filmmaker? Lexus Canada is helping five talented up-and-coming directors pursue that dream through Lexus Film Masters Challenge. Each director has just wrapped up shooting a 1 to2-minute short film – each featuring a different Lexus Next Chapter SUV, but all expressing Lexus Next Chapter pillars.
“The Lexus approach to luxury vehicle design has always pursued the intersection of art and technology – demonstrated in the Takumi craftsmanship that guides every design choice we make to provide each guest with amazing, memorable experiences,” said Martin Gilbert, Director of Lexus Canada. “We’re proud to support these innovative Canadian filmmakers. We hope this project helps accelerate their amazing talents, and we’re excited to see what they create.”
Each director recently wrapped filming on a closed outdoor film set in the Greater Toronto Area, and has now headed to the editing studio to finish their project. Lexus Canada supplied all the filming equipment, the set and crew.
What’s more, Canadians will have the opportunity to watch and vote on their favourite film between October 17 -31. People’s Choice voting will take place at Lexus.ca/FilmMastersChallenge and will go live October 17.
Each film maker and their project is described, briefly, below:
Anyo (Jerick) Collantes – “Symbiosis”
Collantes is a Toronto-based photographer and B-boy who recently ventured into film. His experience includes music videos, commercials, and branded content. Collantes’ entry, Symbiosis, presents the Lexus NX as a sensory experience that elevates the driver’s perception of the world.
Morgana McKenzie – “The Drive Home”
McKenzie is a Toronto-based cinematographer who is known for exploring dark, narrative subjects and vérité documentaries. Her self-directed and lensed works have garnered her many awards and international recognition. Her entry, The Drive Home, captures the emotional journey of a father and son as they explore family memories and nostalgia in a Lexus RX.
Alexandre Richard – “To Feel is to Live”
Richard is a Montreal-based director and screenwriter who has filmed and produced several short films – many of which have been screened and awarded at various Film Festivals, bringing Montreal’s creative talent to the world stage. His entry, To Feel is to Live, tells the story of an artificial being in human form that achieves emotional intelligence for the first time. The Lexus RZ serves as both a companion and catalyst for this emotional awakening, in a poetic exploration of what it truly means to feel.
Nathaniel Martin – “Moments Between Miles”
Martin is from Squamish, BC, known for his adventure photography. He has collaborated with various outdoor- and adventure-themed brands. Martin’s entry, Moments Between Miles, follows a young couple’s relationship through time, with a Lexus GX serving as a lens into their world.
Darrell Wonge – “The Big Decision”
Wonge is a Toronto-based cinematographer with experience spanning fashion, beauty, beverage and sports. As a former professional athlete who has traveled around the world, he brings the same work ethic to every project as a filmmaker. Wonge’s film, The Big Decision, features a Lexus LX and tells the story of a couple navigating changing emotions.
Each director will use their film to communicate two of the four brand pillars from the Lexus Next Chapter:
- Driving Signature – to be expressed in each film – establishes high standards for ride quality, handling, and performance, and ensures they’re present in perfect balance to create a distinctive driving feel unique to Lexus vehicles.
- Advanced Technology leverages the latest in powerful-yet-intuitive technologies to create a more luxurious and safe driving experience.
- Electrification underpins the Lexus commitment offering the widest range of luxury electrified vehicles of any luxury manufacturer in Canada, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric cars and SUVs. The Lexus lineup will continue to reach for carbon neutrality throughout our entire lineup into the future.
- Design reimagines Lexus vehicles, inside and out, to redefine luxury and create amazing automobiles featuring distinctive style that enhances performance, safety, efficiency, and amenities.
