Paul Swadel
Paul is a prolific director, producer and executive producer.
He's directed or produced a vast array of successful short films which have screened in competitionat Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Sundance festivals to name but a few. Saatchi & Saatchi spotted his talent early in the commercials world for the New Directors Showcase at Cannes in 2000. As a TVC director he has done award winning work for Sony, Nike and had his Playstation work picked up globally.
Paul has also nurtured a filmmaking partnership with CGI director and animator James Cunningham that spans 12 years and three globally successful short films. They are currently working on an indie performance capture driven CGI film MARSHALL with Execution Producer Mark Ordesky (EP of THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy, and more recently THE GOLDEN COMPASS).
Paul is currently developing a number feature projects as a co-director with his brother Marc Swadel who has recently returned to New Zealand from Europe. Marc's reel includes work with The Strokes, Sonic Youth and Iggy Pop, and his TVC work was featured in the Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes in 2003.
Paul has also directed a significant number of award-winning art documentaries around the world. These range in subject from Placido Domingo at the NY Metropolitan opera – THE UNDERSTUDY, to a six-hour series on the history of New Zealand Art – THE BIG PICTURE. He is currently directing HOW TO LOOK AT A PAINTING, a 12-parter based upon an award winning book of the same name by Justin Paton and produced by Steven O'Meagher (Producer of NZ BO hit – OUT OF THE BLUE).