Presenting the kick ass class of Young Guns 22
It’s a kick-ass class. Young Guns 22 is topping the charts in creativity. But are you even surprised? Of course, not. If you’re new here, let me catch you up. Young Guns is a community of incredibly talented individuals – think amazing cinematographers, animators, illustrators, photographers, designers, and directors – and a new class of winners is chosen by an expert jury every year. This year we have 33 winners and among them, we have some very new, very exciting titles to unveil – an Architectural Designer, Composer, Stage & Show Designer, and Colorist.
We interviewed the winners so we could share their prowess with you. And if you’re a NYC local you can snag a ticket to the official YG22 Party at Sony Hall on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, where you will have the chance to meet and greet them.
Young Guns continue to dominate the creative industry, so we’re happily presenting you with the kick-ass class of Young Guns 22.
Giordano Maestrelli
Director, Stink Films
Based:
Curitiba, Brazil
Hometown:
Curitiba, Brazil
What were your original impressions of the Young Guns competition, award, and community?
It came naturally as I started diving deep into the filmmaking community. I remember watching films and ads on Vimeo and seeing the same directors and authors who inspired me featured as Young Guns - I knew someday I wanted to be part of it.
How did you end up in the creative field anyways?
I’m the cliché of the nerdy boy who stayed home after school messing around with computers and cameras. In 2010 or something like that I bought a second-hand very shitty Mac Mini which came with Final Cut on it. It changed my life. I started exploring filmmaking, editing, and photography. I’d shoot dialogue scenes with my action figures and edit them, do some crazy digital collages on Photoshop, and very lame VFX in After Effects and so on.
I was privileged to have unrestricted access to the internet, so I’d spend all day long searching for tutorials and resources online - I didn’t know at the time, but I was building the foundation of my career. My mom was bothered that I stayed home all day long and had no friends, so she enrolled me in a photography course (where all my colleagues were 60+ retired people). Even though it was very introductory and simple, it opened me up to understand art as a way of living.
I started shooting literally everything that crossed my way - from family gatherings to pretentious self portraits on reflected facades. Coming of age I got my first gigs as a still photographer, eventually moving towards filmmaking. I’d shoot weddings, parties, corporate events, cults, and all sorts of random stuff. Eventually I got an intern job as an editor at a local production company, The Youth, and in no time I was directing.
Congrats on the YG win! Why did you decide to enter this year?
Young Guns was always on my radar as one of the most prestigious emerging talent awards out there. It was my first time entering, but it definitely felt like the right moment. Even though I’ve been developing a body of work in and out of advertising for a while, 2024 was the first year I felt I was finally able to leave my imprint in a commercial work, and it definitely paid off.
The First Speech for Reporters Without Borders is probably my best piece of commercial work to date, and it added a lot of substance to my reel. Languages, techniques, and feelings that I was only able to articulate in music-videos and passion projects finally flourished in a commissioned job.
Even though we’re talking about a commercial piece, it’s a PSA and stands for something I truly connect with. In other words, maybe my work hasn’t changed that much nor have I matured as an artist, but I found better routes and opportunities to wrap and showcase my ideas to the world.
You only get to submit six projects that embody you and your talent. So, how did you decide which pieces were good enough to make the cut?
I am realizing that, slowly, I’m starting to imprint and develop my own visual language. I’m not a fan of extravagant and frilly stuff, but rather a huge admirer of slow and discrete moments in life. Empty spaces, everlasting sunsets, partially cold cups of coffee - I’m attracted to things, places, and people that stand in between - neither here nor there, those linear moments that somehow define us. The pieces presented here embody those feelings and concepts - commercials and music-videos that are more concerned about raising questions rather than finding precise answers to the topics they explore.
What was your reaction when you discovered that you won?
I was on holiday in Spain, sitting under the sunset sharing a jar of sangria with my partner. My phone buzzed with the news. I read it, turned over to my s.o and said, “damn, I just won Young Guns.” She smiled and replied, “That’s amazing. I'm so proud of you.” We looked at each other silently as a guy started playing “Me Maten” by C Tangana on the guitar. PS: My girlfriend has no idea what Young Guns is.
How does your current home inspire your creativity as an artist?
For a long time I lived under the motto of consuming as much content as possible. Books, films, art exhibitions, music - everything that was out there I’d see, read, watch or listen. That definitely helped shape my taste and build a strong mental library of references, but at some point I came to a conclusion that wasn’t what made me, me.
Most other directors out there also have access to Vimeo or Tate Modern - everyone has watched Yorgos Lanthimos films and read Murakami novels, but how we react and process them is what makes each and every one of us unique - and that is tightly attached to how we process life. The simple, subtle, and ordinary moments. Having breakfast in silence as the sun rises in the horizon, sharing a conversation with a stranger on the subway, eating a questionable dish in a foreign country, or just hearing the birds chiming out there.
In other words, loving. Loving life, loving your own and the other imperfections, loving the gaze of your significant other. The day I’m no longer motivated by love, is the day that I’ll probably quit doing this, as there will be no sense to it anymore.
Name a dream project that you have yet to fulfill — maybe Young Guns will propel you in that direction!
I’m really interested in expanding my output into narrative based projects and scripts. Not necessarily into the feature-film world, but stories for brands, artists, or entities - projects that defy the regular 60” route and somehow invite the viewer in for a deeper experience. Being recognized by Young Guns this year assured me that people are still drawn to slow-paced, yet deep and meaningful stories. That is and always will be my biggest goal and dream - to convey feelings, sensations, and messages through the most simple, mundane, and minimalistic approach to filmmaking.
“That is and always will be my biggest goal and dream - to convey feelings, sensations, and messages through the most simple, mundane, and minimalistic approach to filmmaking.”
Will we see you at the YG22 party in NYC in November?
Yes!
Come party with us and celebrate the class of Young Guns 22 on Wednesday, November 13, 6:30 PM, at Sony Hall in NYC!
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