Feature filmmaker Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, last year’s The Magnificent Seven) via production house Wondros directed “The Gift,” one in a series of three :60s making their broadcast debut during the Oscar telecast (2/26) on ABC. The other two :60s were helmed, respectively, by movie directors Marc Forster and the team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
The premise of each short film centers on “how every receipt tells a story,” with the directors being challenged to illustrate their vision for one receipt containing bananas, paper towels, batteries, scooter, wrapping paper and a video baby monitor. The three creative films are part of Walmart’s larger multi-year partnership with the Academy Awards that is aimed at highlighting Walmart’s commitment to the art of storytelling. Walmart is also be making a $250,000 donation to The Academy Grants Program for FilmCraft.
Fuqua directed “The Gift” which shows a scooter-riding youngster who prepares and then wraps a gift–consisting of several of the items on the Walmart receipt–for presentation to some unseen extraterrestrial beings. Their spacecraft beams up the gift from the lad–while also briefly elevating him towards the sky.
Agency is Saatchi & Saatchi NY.
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Credits
Client Walmart Agency Saatchi & Saatchi NY Javier Campopiano, chief creative officer; Mike Pierantozzi, Wayne Best, executive creative directors; Blake Enting, head of design; Michael Craven, creative director/copywriter; Scott Bassen, creative director/art director; John Doris, head of production; Emily Green, executive producer; Danica Rosen, Zamile Vilakazi, producers; Aliaksandra Shvedava, digital producer. Production Wondros Antoine Fuqua, director; Astrid Downs, exec producer; Justin Diener, producer. Postproduction Wondros/Zero VFX Brian Drewes, exec producer, post; John Refoua, William Pasley, editors. VFX Zero VFX, Venice, Calif., and Boston Sean Devereaux, VFX creative director/partner; Mike Warner, CG supervisor; Brian Drewes, VFX exec producer; Stella Shalta, VFX coordinator. (Toolbox: Maya, Houdini, Nuke, 3DEqualizer, Mari, Zbrush) Color Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist. Post Sound Services Sony Pictures Studios Martin Schloemer, mix tech; Mandell Winter, MPSE, David Esparza, MPSE, supervising sound editors; Brian Smith, ADR mixer. Music GSA Music Simon Franglen, composer.
Once again, this holiday season, BBDO New York and the American Red Cross have launched a campaign underscoring the urgent needs of families disrupted by disasters--something that occurs every eight minutes across the country, over 7,000 times during the
holidays alone.
Running on TV and online through December, the campaign include this PSA titled “Packing,” directed by Anthony Frattolillo via One Free Play. The spot begins with a family that appears to be preparing for a trip. But the mood shifts dramatically when it is revealed the reason they are really packing is an imminent wildfire, and that they are evacuating to a Red Cross shelter. The spot ends with a call to action: “They’re relying on us. We’re relying on you. Please donate.”
BBDO associate creative director Nicole Dombey shared, “I experienced an evacuation as a child, and I’ll never forget the quiet confusion of that moment. As a team, we wanted to capture that mix of innocence and uncertainty families feel in those moments.”
Director Frattolillo stated, “I’ve packed that same car three times, sat in that same traffic jam, worrying about my safety and the safety of my family, thinking we might not see home again. So when we made this film, I wanted people to feel what that moment is really like, the fear, the uncertainty, and the hope that someone will be there when you need them most.”
