Director of UP's movie Jimmy Talks About Working With Michael Bay and The Emergence of Filmmaking on the East Coast

Jimmy tells the remarkable and believable tale of a developmentally disabled teenager with a phobia about water... and an honest streak that gets him into trouble when he overhears troubling conversations. Mark Freiburger pulls a noteworthy performance out of Ian Coletti in the title role of the film based on a Robert Whitlow novel. .

Christiancinema.com recently interviewed Freiburger. He talks about his love for underdog stories, especially stories about individuals who are overlooked by society, yet end up becoming heroes to those same people who had once written them off.

Some highlights include:

On his success he's had as a young filmmaker looks like the track record you’d expect from a UCLA grad than an alum of North Carolina School of the Arts’ film program.

"The UNCSA Film program is considered to be on the same level as UCLA’s program. The Hollywood Reporter recently ranked UNCSA the #12 Film School in the entire world... up there with AFI, Beijing Film Academy, USC, and the national French film academy, Le Femis."

 UNCSA’s alumni have been making major waves in Hollywood over the past few years, not to mention the fact that one of our alum, Jeff Nichols, had back-to-back films in feature competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year and last—a feat that I don’t think any other American film school alum has reached in recent years. Just need to spread a little love for my Alma mater.

On interning with Michael Bay thanks to his win in the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” ad contest.

"Winning the Super Bowl ad contest with Doritos, combined with the release of Jimmy and the production of the current film I’m directing have created a perfect storm of open doors in my career this year. I’ve met with production companies all over Hollywood that I used to only dream about meeting with, and new films are being developed out of that process. I am very, very thankful for these opportunities. And I’m very much looking forward to learning from Michael Bay later this summer and fall. He’s doing a wonderful thing by taking on a mentee and allowing me access to his world."

Read full interview

Christian Filmmaker Makes Short List for Superbowl Commercial Competition

The director of one of five commercials short listed for this year’s “Crash the Super Bowl” contest hosted by Doritos hopes the Christian community will support his family-friendly TV ad by voting for it on Facebook.

Mark Freiburger made the 30-second “Fashionista Daddy” video in Los Angeles with the help of some friends and is vying for a $1 million prize and the chance to work with Hollywood filmmaker Michael Bay.

The commercial opens with a girl asking her daddy if he’ll play Princess fashion show with her. He’s about to go play some touch football with his pals but when she offers a bag of Doritos, he ditches the football and instead dresses up in a gown and makeup and dances with his daughter. When his friends coming looking for him, they, too, are lured to play dress up by the promise of Doritos.

“The piece is about a father’s love for his daughter and for Doritos and how far he’ll go to show that love,” said Freiburger. “We wanted to do something that was family friendly and they’ve never had a father-daughter theme before.”

The top vote getter in the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest will air during Super Bowl 47 on Feb. 3. along with a second spot selected by Doritos. Freiburger will find out along with the rest of the world if "Fashionista Daddy" makes the cut.

“They’re taking all five finalists to the Super Bowl and we’ll be in the skybox with Michael Bay and we’ll only know when it’s broadcast,” he said.

If one of the two Doritos commercials ranks the highest of any other commercial aired during the Super Bowl according to the USA Today Ad Meter, its creator will receive a $1 million prize.

The creator of the highest ranked of the two Doritos commercials will also get to work with Bay on the next “Transformers” movie.

Freiburger, 29, is originally from North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles. A committed Christian, he has worked on a number of faith-based films. His latest feature film “Jimmy,” which he directed, is due to be released on DVD in June.

He says entering the “Crash the Super Bowl” challenge is part of his efforts to transition into the Hollywood mainstream and says it would be a dream come true to work with Bay. He also says that if he should win the $1 million prize, he will donate $100,000 of it to various charities.