Directing duo Terri Timely takes a beautiful perspective on a creepy hobby in their new documentary short “Dollhouse,” which debuted at SXSW and won a Special Jury Recognition award in the Documentary Shorts category. Since then, people have been buzzing about the eclectic Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning Bay Area filmmakers.

The seven-minute short follows artist Kate Charles, a “reborn” artist who crafts strikingly realistic dolls of newborn babies for sale. We watch as Charles’ expert fingers paint the perfect shadows on tiny feet, remove spare limbs from an oven and even pin-prick strands of hair onto rubbery heads. The finished creations are then carefully packaged and shipped to their new ‘mothers’/owners.

Terri Timely is the moniker used by directors Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey. The Oakland, Calif. natives met in college at the University of California, Berkeley and have been directing commercials, music videos and short films together since 2003. The two are known for profiling unusual subjects, from our “Dollhouse” heroine Charles to an art forger who poses as a Jesuit priest to give away forged masterpieces in “Father Philanthropy.” Their other creative work is just as inventive, including the delightful “Input/Output” in which ordinary actions like turning on a light switch or hammering a nail produce extraordinary and unexpected results (named one of Vimeo’s top videos of 2015), and Synesthesia, a visualization of the phenomena in which words evoke sounds or tastes for certain people.

In 2015, Terri Timely signed with renowned production company Park Pictures for U.S. commercial representation, directing Cannes Grand Prix and AdWeek “Ad of the Year” Geico “Unskippable” and the hilarious Toyota Prius “Heck on Wheels” 2016 Super Bowl spot, and even creating a dating app for bacon lovers for Oscar Mayer.

Terri Timely’s latest short “Dollhouse” is featured in top publications such as SHOOT, NOWNESS, and Boooooooom.

Credits

Director: Terri Timely
Executive Producer: Dawn Ostroff, Conde Nast Entertainment
Producer: Brady Welch
Cinematographer: Devin Whetstone
Editor: Catherine Bull
Sound Designer: Rich Bologna
Music: Roger Neill
Production Coordinator: Anna Aguilar
Gaffer: Ben Hardwicke
AC: Kathryn Begle, Ezra Bassin-Hill
Talent: Kate Mault