Sanctuary Signs Agency Creative-Turned-Director Mike Andrews

Culver City, CA-based production company Sanctuary continues to bolster its directorial roster with the addition of Mike Andrews.

A longtime agency mainstay, Andrews served as a senior creative at notable shops including Leo Burnett and DDB before making the transition into the director’s chair a few years ago. “I’ve wanted to direct for a while but wasn’t sure of the path to get there,” he recalls. “I remember asking a young director I was working with several years ago if I should just quit and go to film school. He told me not to waste my money. I had been working with and continued to work with some incredibly talented and notable directors. I just paid attention, asked questions, and continued to learn.”

After landing his first directing job for Kingsford Charcoal, which he considers a personal favorite and an account he actually managed while at DDB, Andrews eventually moved into directing full-time. Along the way, he’s displayed his comedic storytelling prowess behind the camera in campaigns for brands including Quilted Northern out of Droga5, Canon out of Grey and the recent Kobe Bryant-starring Ghostbusters/NBA cross-promotion for Sony Studios.

Now at Sanctuary, Andrews is in somewhat familiar territory as his relationship with the production company’s Owner/Executive Producer, Preston Lee, dates back well over a decade. “Preston and I have known each other for about 12 years,” he explains. “We worked together on a few jobs while I was on the agency side and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. He’s a great guy and very driven. He’s had a lot of success building directors and I was excited at the potential of being his next success story.”

Adds Lee, “The strength of Mike’s comedy work coupled with his knowledge of all facets of the advertising business made wanting to work with him a no-brainer. Honored and excited to play a role in his bright future. He also has a pretty great dog named after a famous female bank robber. Sealed it.”

Inspired by the cinematic comedy of directors such as the Coen Brothers, and the improvisational performers of theaters such as I.O., the Groundlings, and UCB, Andrews brings a wealth of agency and commercial directing experience to Sanctuary, where he hopes to show how diverse visually cinematic comedy can be. “Comedy isn’t one specific genre,” says the director, who is already hard at work at Sanctuary on a new Toyota spot out of MMB Boston. “Humor happens in many forms and iterations. Sometimes comedy involves gags and jokes and sometimes a laugh comes from a truthful human insight. My goal is create work that elicits an honest laugh from the viewer, be it an outright chuckle or simple smile.”

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About Sanctuary:

Sanctuary Content is a live-action production company based out of Culver City, California. Founded in 2015, the company represents a diverse roster of directorial talent coming from all mediums of filmmaking including Advertising, TV, Film and Music Video. As filmmakers first our mission is to tell great stories. Thirty seconds, thirty minutes or thirty hours. Story is everything.