Why Sagi Kahane-Rapport Believes He Has the Best Job in the World
Sagi Kahane-Rapport is a Canadian-American film and commercial director based in Toronto, Canada. His work focuses on storytelling, food and showing the beauty of regular life. He utilises his editorial and VFX experience to bring that extra spark of magic to every project he works on.
He's worked with major brands like Gillette, Hennessy, MLSE, LCBO, Patron, Dairy Farmers, and McCain. His practical effects experience extends from cloud tanks to projection mapping, and he uses those skills to make each project even better.
With numerous award-winning shorts under his belt, as well as a feature-length, internationally distributed food documentary, Sagi is constantly looking for new creative boundaries to push.
He also likes longboarding and grilled cheese, but rarely at the same time.
Sagi chatted with LBB to discuss his love of the technical challenges that come with directing, and his unique all-in approach to treatments.
Name: Sagi Kahane-Rapport
Location: Toronto, Canada
Repped by/in: The Deli, Canada
Awards:
Young Director Award Nominee (’24, ’25)
Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award (x2)
Ryan Churchill Promising Filmmaker Award
Harvey Hart Director’s Award
Adobe Design Achievement Awards
British Short Film Awards (’24)
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Sagi> I like scripts that know what they are. We’re telling a story in as little as six seconds, and when there’s a clear creative goal, that’s gold. When the creatives have landed on a clear style for the spot, it helps the whole production. I’ll embellish and add my own flair to it, but if we’re all leaning into the same references and inspirations, we’re going to make a better product.
I also love good technical challenges. Nothing gets my brain buzzing more than when a creative says: we want to do this, but we don’t know how. Film is an artist’s medium, but creating it takes craftsmanship. I love both sides of the process, and that’s why it’s the best job in the world.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Sagi> I think the best way to create a treatment for a spot is to make sure that the experience of going through it is the same as the experience of watching this spot. This is a tough challenge, but it’s a good goal to have.
The key for me is to get into the perspective of having already won the bid, and treat the treatment like a tool I’m using to help conceptualise the spot for all the key creatives. If my vision for how I’d like to make it is clear, then the creatives will know they’re in good hands.
I also like to make my treatments interactive, with things to click on, scroll through, or pop out. Sometimes I’ll even build in pre-visualisations, using some basic animation or just shots from my phone. At the beginning of my career, I made a conscious promise to myself: that I’d never once regret working extra hard on a treatment, even if I didn’t get the spot. Just the practice of writing the treatment and thinking with my director brain is valuable, and it’s an approach that has served me well.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Sagi> If I’m not familiar with a brand, I’ll go out and do my research even before I start pitching. I like to get a sense of what the product is and even where to get it - if it’s in a supermarket, where is it? What’s it next to? What’s it used for? In a way, we’re trying to capture a hyper-real version of life, so if we’re not drawing from accurate source material, what are we doing?
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Sagi> I think your most important relationship as a director is with your producer - making sure the creative and logistic sides of the production are in balance. You’re really putting yourself in each other's hands - so if you’re not in excellent sync, things get challenging!
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Sagi> I love bold style choices that allow the production team as a whole to flex their creative muscles. When I hear ‘we want to create a noir’, or, ‘let’s make a surreal dreamscape’, I instantly begin itching with ideas. I think that as high production value approaches have become democratised, we’re finding more and more that bold stylistic choices pay off better, and help hook audiences into compelling stories.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Sagi> I do a lot of precise and technically complex work, and I really enjoy that - from motion control robots to VFX shots. It’s a super helpful skillset to have, especially on my food and product work. Someone recently described me as a person who cares a lot about the visual design of the frame. And I think that’s true! But I also have a deep interest in real life and human stories, and a lot of my work incorporates doc style shooting.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Sagi> During a short film shoot, our location was intentionally set on fire by an arsonist. This was mainly solved by the police, but damn! Doesn’t get crazier than that.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Sagi> It’s obvious, but I think the best way to create a good film is by working together. And that means being clearly communicative about the things you are trying to protect, and why you’re doing so. And this goes both ways! There are a lot of factors and decisions going into the client and agency’s decisions, and making sure I understand these is a big part of my job.
Likewise, making sure the client and agency understand my decisions helps keep things moving smoothly and efficiently. When I come back to video village, I’ll never just tell the agency and client what I am doing - I’ll make sure to explain why I’m doing it.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Sagi> It’s probably obvious from my work, but I have a deep background in VFX and animation. One of my most interesting projects is a travelling museum installation that takes place inside a replica World War 2 Cattle Car, with video projections playing on all four of the interior walls. Telling this sort of immersive story meant combining projection mapping, VFX, and all the other tools in the director’s tool kit.
I’m interested in AI as a tool - I don’t think it will replace traditional methods so quickly, and it won’t remove the important decision making skills the best creatives have. But it can open up so many possibilities and also reduce the complexity of challenging technical problems. I’ve got one project where we’re discussing animating a baby’s face with AI - using a hyper realistic doll and then just animating the face. There are ethical considerations when using AI, for sure. But is it really ethical for us to bring a six month old on set, anyways?
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Sagi> Toronto Raptors x Gillette: This was an amazing opportunity to work with a brand I am a genuine fan of, and also embrace a real fun style. We studied classic films like the 1979 ‘The Warriors’ and also leaned into more modern choices that let us create this ultimate showdown.
Hennessy x NBA: This project was a dream because it offered us a lot of creative freedom, and let us really get into the head of the artist. It’s sort of doc style, but we worked with practical effects to make some really cool transitions and surreal sequences. Guess which scene was inspired by ‘Ratatouille’!
Patron Tequila: I love creating elevated, cinematic documentaries, and this one was a particular joy. We had a lot of creative freedom and got to meet some amazing people, and tell a unique story at the same time.
Dominos Pizza Night: This was a lot of fun because when this board came in, the concept was just to have four different shots of four different tables with pizza. But by creating a previsualisation with some very crude CGI, I was able to show the client how we could combine all 4 scenes into one really fun spot. I think they ran this spot three years in a row!
