Gia Coppola Directs 'New York Minute' Microfilms for Mejuri

Real-life friends feature in this slice-of-life series

Jewelry brand Mejuri celebrates extraordinary moments in an otherwise ordinary life through a series of artful microfilms directed by Gia Coppola. The first film launches today.

The campaign—dubbed “A New York Minute”—depicts a woman named Emma going about her daily routine in NYC. She is seen grocery shopping with her gal pals, talking to her therapist and pondering the kind of life changes one makes in their 30s.

The conversations between the women—whether they’re shopping for a weekend getaway or hanging out in Emma’s apartment—flow naturally. The films make us feel as though we are observing life as opposed to being sold a product or service.

Repped by The Directors Bureau for ad work, Coppola—whose latest feature film, The Last Showgirl, starring Pam Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, premiered at TIFF this month—chatted with Muse about the approach she took to making “A New York Minute.”

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Why She Wanted to Make These Films

“It was appealing to have a project where it really felt like a collaboration. So often [clients] say [it will be like] that, and then it’s, ‘Oh, here, just take our idea, and put your name on it, and pretend it’s yours.’ And that doesn’t feel true to me,” says Coppola, who credits Mejuri chief brand officer Jacob Jordan with sparking “the best form of collaboration where they kind of give you a general idea and then say, ‘Run with it!'”

Focusing on Life’s Small Moments

Emma, the thirtysomething woman featured in the microseries, is at a crossroads in her life. “Your friends are at this diverging point of some are getting married, some are shifting their jobs, but you don’t recognize these sorts of pivotal times until they’ve already passed,” Coppola says. “And so those sort of memorable moments of when you’re at a grocery store with your friends on the way to vacation as opposed to the vacation itself are the things that really stay with you more. And I was really intrigued by that idea.”

While “A New York Minute” is neither a comedy nor a sitcom, Coppola notes, “We talked a lot about how Seinfeld is the show essentially about nothing, yet it’s the most universal, relatable kind of fun show.”

The Casting

The cast, including model Laura Love, who plays Emma, didn’t have to pretend to be friends onscreen because they are actually friends in real life. Casting people who already knew each other and had chemistry was crucial for this project, according to Coppola. “That was really important to me because with commercials you’re obviously moving a lot faster than in the film world, and you don’t have rehearsal time.”

Ultimately, there was lots of ad-libbing. “We gave them prompts, and we had ideas of what each scene would be. But because they knew each other, you could just sort of say, ‘Remember this time…?'”

What you see in the films is a group of women just chatting, goofing off, supporting each other and being real friends. “I knew that would be the case if we cast people who really knew each other,” Coppola says.

The Cinematography

DP Jody Lee Lipes, whose credits range from TV series like Girls and Dead Ringers to the films Manchester by the Sea and Trainwreck, captured the scenes on 16mm, shooting with a handheld camera, making us feel like voyeurs observing the slice-of-life vignettes as they unfold. Coppola wanted to focus on life’s little moments and portray NYC as a character in the films. “Jody and I had worked with each other a long time ago on commercials, and I’ve always really admired his aesthetic and his eye. I knew he would just add a whole other layer to it.”

No Hard Sell

The characters are wearing Mejuri jewelry, of course. After all, these films were made to sell earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. But even when the camera moves in close, it never feels like a product shot. “It’s just part of the sort of film language that we established, and that was really important to me, and I believe to Jacob, to not be heavy-handed in any way, to let the story do the work,” Coppola says.

More Mejuri?

Coppola says she would love to make more of these Mejuri microfilms. “When we were writing it, we had so many ideas, and we had to cut it down,” she recalls.

And since the director made the films, she keeps having “Mejuri moments. Just funny accidents that happen or funny conversations that you’re having, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s such a Mejuri moment.’ So, I think we’re really intrigued to try to keep it going.”

Family Inspiration

This project was special to Coppola because she was inspired throughout the process by the art films made by her grandmother Eleanor Coppola, who passed away in April. “I wanted to kind of pay homage to her work and feel closer to her in that way. It was really nice for me to look through the lens, look at the world through her point of view,” Coppola reflects. “That meant a lot.”