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Underhill signs director Zen Pace
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Pace is known for acclaimed work with brands including Xbox, Gucci, Samsung, Meta, Brooks, and CBS.
Brooklyn-based creative production company Underhill announces the signing of award-winning director Zen Pace to their newly launched directors roster.
With a visual language shaped by formative experiences growing up in Flint, Michigan, and a journey marked by dyslexia, recovery, and grassroots filmmaking, Pace brings a singular voice to emotionally rich, human-centered storytelling.
“I didn’t learn to read until I was ten due to severe dyslexia,” said Pace. “So visual mediums became my first language. Films, paintings, anything I could see and feel were my entry points into understanding the world.”
Pace’s path into filmmaking was far from conventional. Years spent working in mental health startups, navigating addiction recovery, and building creative communities laid the foundation for a directing style rooted in emotional precision, empathy, and purpose.
“At the root of every project is a need to externalise something internal,” Pace explains. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a product video or a public service announcement, our work is only as good as the emotional investment the audience puts into it. That’s my job as a director: to make people care.”
Pace’s standout work includes Emmy-nominated national PSAs for CBS, as well as the viral Samsung Uncrush campaign, which was honoured with multiple Clio and Pencil awards and shortlisted by Ad Age and The Webby Awards. Other collaborations span major global brands like Xbox, Gucci, Meta, and Brooks, blending high-concept visuals with deeply human storytelling.
Pace’s decision to join Underhill stems from shared values and a creative alignment focused on authenticity and ambition.
“We both see a lot of potential in each other, and that excites me,” said Pace. “I’ve been working independently for years, and I wasn’t actively seeking representation, but the energy at Underhill, their desire to make work that’s both stunning and soul-stirring, got me. I feel like we’re going to push each other to make lasting, meaningful work.”
Matt Seger, Co-founder of Underhill, shared: “We have deep respect for Zen, not just as a filmmaker, but as a human. Their ability to move people with every frame is what drew us in, and their relentless work ethic felt like a perfect match for the creative community we’re building. ‘Excited’ is an understatement.”
With this new partnership, Underhill and Pace are set to push creative boundaries and champion emotionally resonant storytelling across the commercial and branded landscape.
