The Lincoln Motor Co. teamed up with Vanity Fair magazine and Film Independent, a nonprofit arts organization, to sponsor three emerging filmmakers as they re-imagined classic film genres.
The results, examples of film noir, heist, and screwball comedy, were introduced at a special screening in Los Angeles, and can be viewed at hello-again.com.
The filmmakers’ efforts are part of the Lincoln Reimagine Project, with the goal of collaborating, sponsoring, and supporting culturally progressive individuals and their vision for making the old new again through reinvention.
The overall effort is designed to reinvigorate Ford’s Lincoln brand, which has fallen behind other luxury nameplates in recent years due to a lack of new product and extensive time lags between new model introductions.
The project is a welcome one to at least one independent filmmaker.
“Anything that calls attention to independent filmmaking is important and essential,” says Jeffrey Nadalin, a filmmaker and president of the Raindance Windsor-Detroit Film School in Windsor. “The opportunities for young filmmakers are few and far between, and this is a tremendous way to encourage talent and call attention to their work and the entire genre of independent film.”
The program is an extension of Lincoln’s “Hello, Again” platform that is reintroducing the luxury automotive brand through all-new vehicles such as the Lincoln MKZ premium midsize sedan.
In other news, Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday elected James P. Hackett and John C. Lechleiter to the company’s board of directors. Hackett’s appointment is effective immediately, while Lechleiter will join the board Oct. 1.
Hackett, is chief executive officer of Steelcase Inc., a global leader in the office furniture industry. Lechleiter, is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Co., a leading global pharmaceutical firm. He was appointed president and CEO in April 2008 and became chairman of Eli Lilly in January 2009.
