GALEN SUMMER

BIOGRAPHY

Galen is a founding member of Public Record, where he directs award-winning commercials, films and TV. His latest doc series, Monster Factory, premiered on Apple TV+ in 2023 and won a British Documentary Award.

His award-winning documentary Sidelined—about the controversial firing of NFL cheerleaders in 1978—premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for an IDA award.

Born on an organic farm in the Pacific Northwest and raised in Western Massachusetts, Galen was operating a Sony S-VHS camcorder by age twelve, and assaulting the local Cable Access airwaves with a variety show that featured clay-animated aliens, unlicensed Aerosmith videos, and kung fu battles.

Galen got his start directing a series of short documentaries for The New York City Ballet, which were featured in the The New York Times. In the commercial space, he created a film for Downy about the power of hugging, which was viewed millions of times, likely on smartphones in laundromats all over the country. Galen won an AICP Next Award for his work on CVS Health's #OneGoodReason campaign, a series of emotional stories about people struggling to quit smoking, and more recently, he directed his second multi-film campaign for TriNet, this time featuring the legendary portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Galen is developing a number of film projects, and is still plotting his triumphant return to Cable Access television. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

BIOGRAPHY

Born on an organic farm in the Pacific Northwest and raised in Western Massachusetts, Galen is a founding member of Public Record, where he directs award-winning commercials, films and TV. His latest doc series, Monster Factory, premiered on Apple TV+ in 2023.

His documentary Sidelined—about the controversial firing of NFL cheerleaders in 1978—premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for an IDA award.

In the commercial space, Galen helmed the AICP-winning #OneGoodReason campaign for CVS Health and four spots in Droga5’s celebrated #ThisIsWholesome campaign for Honey Maid.

SELECTED WORK