JOINING ELEANOR UK, INTUITIVE STORYTELLER ARIEL DANZIGER STEPS INTO THE LONDON MARKET

Lady Eleanor sat with the worldbuilding visionary to discuss his approach, his acclaimed portfolio, and the adventure of exploring creative unknowns. 

Lady Eleanor: What most excites you about stepping into the UK market?

Ariel: Bangers and Mash, for starters!

I've always had a deep appreciation for the incredible advertising that comes out of the UK. It’s something I’ve admired for years, especially from across the pond here in New York. There's a unique craft and creativity in the way the creative is approached, and it’s consistently impressed me and it’s fueled my excitement to be a part of that world. Getting the chance to contribute to such a vibrant market just feels right to me and I’m really looking forward to being able to explore and continue to grow my style and craft in this new market.  

Lady Eleanor: In your own words, what does the essence of 'craft' signify to you, both personally and professionally?

Ariel: I love this question.

To me "craft" is all about “intuition”, and “emotional resonance”. It’s about creating a space for inspiration to flow, rather than overthinking or overly precise techniques. I tend to strip away and peel away rather than overcomplicate. It leaves for so much more room to connect with feeling and emotion, In essence, that is where the best art lives. To be tuned into your craft is truly about finding that delicate balance between skill and intuition. I feel like that’s where the space for the most creative flow happens without too much interference. 

Lady Eleanor: Tell me a bit more about your creative process. How do you move from an initial idea to a concrete vision?

Ariel: I listen carefully to my gut and follow it with as little interference as possible. I strip everything away and focus on the core emotion I want to create or feel when writing for a film or an Ad. My main question is always, “how does it make me feel” and then I transfer that to "How do I want the audience to feel?

Once I have that emotional vision clear, I start building the world around it. The camera movements, the music, the sound—all the sensory elements tied together. Sometimes they all fall into place but most of the time they all fall apart and I get to start over. But that’s the beauty of it all, to re-construct and re-invent ideas constantly.  Most of the time (for me) I don't really know if any of it is working until i am shooting scenes or on the cutting room floor. 

Lady Eleanor: One of the pillars of Eleanor’s philosophy is the importance of being a cultural polymath. What inspires you? How do you immerse yourself in the arts?

Ariel: Music is one of the strongest frequencies and I find it to be a big source of “inspiration”. It has this unique ability to transport you—back in time, into the future, or anchor you right in the present. No other sensory experience does that quite like music. It can instantly make you feel something. I rely on it throughout almost every stage of the creative process—whether I’m writing, on-set shooting, or meditating. It opens up channels between the conscious and subconscious mind. What I really love is how music and sound can be translated visually, and I mirror that into my filmmaking all the time. It’s about creating a rhythm and emotion on-screen. 

Lady Eleanor: What role does the audience play for you as you create? Do you feel like you have a specific audience in mind as you work? 

Ariel: When you start focusing too much on what the audience wants, you lose the essence of your own creative vision. Early on in my directing career, I used to constantly think, “What does the client want to see in this ad or in this treatment?” But everything shifted when I stopped worrying about their expectations and focused on how I wanted to create it. That’s when things really started to click for me.

Lady Eleanor: Your portfolio holds a great range in tone and genre. What are some unique themes across your films? Why do you think you find yourselves drawn to those themes? 

Ariel: Growing up with two new-age, service-oriented academic parents definitely shaped my outlook. It’s hard to deny the influence and over time, I realized that film became my way of contributing and serving. It’s more than just storytelling for me—it’s a form of healing. Not only for me but also for those who have been involved in the process. 

In all my docs, with the exception of “Through the Stars”, I’ve aimed for this: they hold a sense of purity, an unobstructed space where the stories can unfold naturally. Through sound and visual style, I tend to bend that world just a bit—pushing the boundaries while still keeping everything grounded in reality, but with a slight shift in how it’s perceived. For me, It’s that subtle distortion that makes it all the more engaging and immersive to watch.

You’re able to craft distinct, stunning visual languages for vastly different projects. I wanted to hear a bit about your experience on these specific projects: 

SUMMON FLAVORS OF AGAVE 

Lady Eleanor: For Summon Flavors of Agave, walk me through your process of building the epic visual language of this film, its rushing sense of movement, visual texture and immersive soundscape. Where did you start? How did this visual world evolve from your original vision? 

Ariel: The creative process can sometimes take you to places that feel almost otherworldly, and that’s exactly what I had in mind from the start. I wanted to create something mystical, something that bends reality—like a wormhole into another dimension. Initially, the plan was to use a LIDAR camera to 3D scan landscapes and agave elements. But as production moved forward, we realized it just didn’t fit within the schedule to pull off everything we wanted.

So, we pivoted and went more practical. Like scientists in a lab, we locked ourselves in a studio for two days and set up different stations—water, fire, liquids, smoke. It became this creative playground, and it was incredibly satisfying to shoot. 

LETTERS TO ROSIE

Lady Eleanor: Letters to Rosie gives a voice to a survivor of sexual assault. I wanted to hear, in your words, a bit about the role of art as an outlet of emotion and tool for healing. And a bit about how you navigated finding the right tone for this project given the heavy subject matter. 

Ariel: This story originated from the artist Matt Sanchez. I was simply the vessel, placed there with a small crew and a camera to capture his incredible story—one that stemmed from a letter I asked him to write to his deceased mother. He had so many secrets and so much pain locked inside, and my role was to help him unlock it. I was there to capture the raw, stripped-down version of an artist, allowing him to be as vulnerable as he was willing to be.

We shot everything on 16mm film to give texture to his words, creating the aesthetic and tone the story needed. We were very careful in our assembly to not make the film feel like it had a strong perspective of someone molding the story to trigger any forced emotion and that took a lot of discipline in deciding what part of his story went in and was left out. Simply to avoid anything that felt exploitative.  My editor, who I’ve worked with for years, truly mastered the task of unifying 12 rolls of film into a cohesive, poetic piece. I’m deeply grateful for the craft that went into it, and I believe this short will stand the test of time.

DESPIERTO 

Lady Eleanor: I want to hear more about your approach to worldbuilding and character development in “Despierto”. First, how did you craft the dreamy, surreal, gorgeous visual world of this short film? And, what was your approach to working with the lead couple to show the tender love and intimacy these characters share? 

Ariel: This project was a true testament to the craft of filmmaking, where everything came together spontaneously, almost serendipitously.  I was surrounded by the right group of friends in Mexico City, we found ourselves in the midst of something magical. The house—discovered through a friend—became the perfect setting, and the couple featured are both actors in Mexico City. My wife had worked with them on HBO’s VGLY, so there was a natural and unfiltered chemistry.

We followed a clear theme of “Who would they be in alternate universes” and wrote the script pretty much on the fly. Allowing the story to unfold organically. The DP Leo and I deliberately wanted to shoot on 16mm film. The location and wardrobe had so much texture, we knew digital wouldn’t do it justice 

“Despierto” was deeply personal for me, reflecting exactly where I was at that moment in my life. I had just returned from a week-long meditation retreat, and I felt suspended between a dream state and reality. In many ways, the film became an exploration of that in-between space—a bridge between the conscious and subconscious, between worlds that may or may not exist.

Lady Eleanor: Finally, what excites you most about joining Eleanor?

Ariel: I love entering the unknown and constantly reinventing myself. It’s how I continue my creative growth and open myself up to new experiences—new people, new places. That’s what I love most about filmmaking, and it’s what I’m most addicted to. New experiences fuel my passion and creativity like nothing else. They are the heartbeat of our stories and our lives. That’s what excites me most about joining Eleanor.