Charles Todd
Charles explores storytelling through experimental mixed-media, bold visuals and cinematic narrative for artists, and brands such as Apple Music, Nike, Amazon, the NBA, Nikon and Sprite. For Google, Charles directed the interactive, mix-media adventure, “Black Owned Friday,” starring Ludacris and Flo Milli. The campaign won 4 Clio Awards, 4 Webby Awards, is shortlisted at the One Show (x 15) and the AICP Next Awards and was a shots creative Top 100 of 2022 pick. For the collaboration PUMA x Balmain, Charles wrote and directed “A Dream Come True,” featuring (W)NBA stars Skylar Diggins Smith and Kyle Kuzma and he directed, “SWDC,” a campaign for Nike for Serena Williams’ first design collection. Charles' “Voices of Harlem,” a 5 film campaign for Remy Martin earned a pencil at the 2021 D&AD Awards. Charles’ original doc shorts for Apple Music have evolved the genre into wholly innovative films for artists such as Lil Baby, H.E.R., The 1975, Raphael Saadiq, and Christine and the Queens.
In music documentary, Charles has directed projects for Rihanna, Jay-Z and Beyonce and Travis Scott. In feature documentaries, Charles directed Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Feature Documentary at the 2022 Pan-African Film Festival, and Romeo Santos: King Of Bachata for HBO Max, a 2022 Latin GRAMMY award nominee for Best Longform Video and a winner at the Webby Awards for Video: Music. In honor of George Floyd on the anniversary of his murder, Charles directed “Bars and Ballads for George Floyd,” a special featuring powerful conversation, spoken word and artist performances.
For CNN, Charles wrote and directed the doc “Diving with a Purpose” (DWP), featuring a group of Black women archeologists with the goal to restore the nearly 500 voyages shipwrecked during the slave trade, to the historical record. Todd explores this intergenerational journey, the search for identity, and a communal bond developed through a shared mission. “DWP” and Charles were featured at MIPAD (Most Influential People of African Descent) 100 Recognitions Week in 2021.