Station Film welcomes comedy director Sara Shelton

Station Film announces that director Sara Shelton has joined the company for commercials. Known for her performance-driven comedy, Sara has created campaigns for Xfinity, Hormel, Manhattan Mini Storage, Sugar Mutts Rescue, Sprint and Country Time Lemonade, among others, the latter winning six Cannes Lions. She also recently directed the cold open of Luenell: Town Business on Netflix, which Dave Chappelle served as executive producer, as well as the original narrative short film Teddy Bear (2022), a dramedy with a twist that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“Sara's work caught my attention because of her strong storytelling and real-life comedy,” said Caroline Gibney, founding partner of Station Film. “Her writing experience gives her another strength as a storyteller. I think we need comedy in advertising now more than ever and Sara has a unique voice. We look forward to opening up exciting new opportunities for her.”

Michelle Towse, partner and executive producer at Station Film, added: “Sara's work hits all the right notes, it's funny and down to earth, with great casting, great performances and comedic timing. She came over for coffee and we hit it off. She ended up staying all afternoon. We're so excited to be working with her!”

Comedy has always been the most important thing for Sara. “I don't think I had a choice,” she said. “I'm addicted to laughter. I'm drawn to things that have an element of humor.”

After attending Miami Ad School, Sara began her career in the industry on the agency side in New York. She worked for two years as an employee at Johannes Leonardo, where she was the agency's first writer when it opened its doors in 2007. After a two-year stint in Costa Rica surfing and freelancing, she returned to New York and worked for three years as a writer at Droga5. Her experiences on set sparked her interest in directing and after a few independent projects behind the camera, it was Droga5 that gave her her first job as a commercial director on a Sprint commercial with Paul Marcarelli. It was a great experience that led to ongoing work on the brand campaign and Sara has never looked back.

“I've respected Station since I was on the agency side of this business and I love their track record and ability to run their company and each individual production like a well-oiled machine,” said Sara. “They are down to earth and have a passion for commercials. We hit it off right away and I knew I had found my people.”

Sara finds inspiration in everything from the work of Zillennial comedy collective Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon and Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms, Theater Camp) and Bo Burnham's Netflix special Inside to John Mulaney's live talk show “Everybody's in LA” and Kareem Rahma's viral series “Subway Takes.”

In between her work as a commercial director, Sara is preparing her next short film, which is based on the experiences of a girl who wants to be liked by her hairdresser and is persuaded to get a new haircut.