Brave Makers and director Sami Abdou are inviting audiences into the richly textured world of cookbook author, food stylist and designer Mariana Velásquez in a visually lush new campaign for Sur La Table.
Created to support the launch of the Mariana Velásquez x Sur La Table collection, the campaign blends intimate documentary storytelling with stylized visuals and touches of magical realism to explore Velásquez’s Colombian roots, artistic philosophy, and approach to gathering through food.
At the center of the campaign is a hero film that positions Velásquez not simply as a chef or designer, but as a creative whose work lives at the intersection of food, fashion, art, and sensory experience. The campaign also includes short-form social content and in-store video assets rolling out nationally across Sur La Table locations. Watch below:
“Mariana Velásquez is a creative force, a natural host, and someone whose love of cooking is so genuine it stops you in your tracks,” said Kristin Flor Perret, VP of Brand Marketing at Sur La Table. “For Sur La Table, finding a collaborator who shares our belief that cooking is an act of love and gathering is what makes life richer, and who brings that belief to life with such a distinct creative eye, that is not something you take for granted.”
Abdou directed, edited, and co-developed the concept alongside Justin Ross, founder and executive producer of Brave Makers. Velásquez herself also contributed visual direction during the collaborative creative process.
“The goal was to translate and deliver her fresh perspective and build a visual world around it, one that honors her origin story and her deep belief in the importance of gathering, and the imprint that food culture has on deep connections,” Abdou said. “In addition to expressing Mariana as an original artist, our aim was to welcome the viewer into her warm and expressive world.”
To achieve that tone, the creative team intentionally avoided overly polished food-commercial conventions, balancing handheld, documentary-style footage with carefully constructed visual moments that reflect both intimacy and imagination. The campaign also incorporates select AI-enhanced creative elements, including an original score generated and refined by Abdou through an iterative AI music process.
“This campaign is everything that we want Brave Makers to be represented by: elevated and imaginative documentary style with soul and substance at its core,” said Ross. “This was a great example of partnership, where everyone involved, including Mariana, embraced a spirit of deep collaboration to produce something strikingly beautiful that draws upon real-world experiences and inspiration.”
CREDITS:
BRAND: Sur La Table
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Brave Makers
- Director/Editor: Sami Abdou
- Executive Producer: Justin Ross, Sami Abdou
- Producer: Ali Steele
- Director of Photography: Matthew Canada
- Second Camera: Matt Albano
- AC: Curran Banach, Osarodion Amenze, Joonas Lemetyinen
- Gaffer: Daniel Lipsky
- Grip: Koehl Ehlers, Morgan McLean
MUSIC: Suno
Composer: Sami Abdou
COLOR: colorspacepost
Colorist: Mish Hassidim
REELated:
natural bliss, VML launch ‘unexplainably blissful’ campaign
