Richard Bullock of Hungry Man wrote and directed this original short film for sportswear brand On Running that's been launched in the run-up to the Winter Olympics. Titled Black Ice, the short tells the story of world-class athlete Akwasi Frimpong, Africa’s one and only skeleton racer. An extreme sports form of toboggan, skeleton racing is for the fearless; it entails going down a bobsled course on what resembles a tea tray at some 90 miles per hour. 
 
Rather than share this inspiring athlete’s story documentary style, Bullock decided to anchor Black Ice in a graphic novel–intercutting comic book-style artwork with live footage. The look is inspired by the black-and-white style of the original Phantom comics.

Bullock wrote down Frimpong’s story in the form of a graphic novel, handed it to his illustrator Dean Mortensen who brought it to life in a comic book-like version. The book in turn was animated by Brett McManus for the film. The story is presented in the film through the eyes of children whom the graphic novel aims to inspire

The 10-minute campaign film, produced by Hungry Man and On, delves into the story of Frimpong, and how his dreams and hard work paid off. After several attempts to get into the Olympics over many years in multiple sports, Frimpong finally broke through. He became the first Black skeleton athlete in the history of the Olympic Games and Ghana’s second-ever Winter Olympian. While an unfortunately timed COVID diagnosis has kept him from qualifying for Beijing 2022, viewers will feel his determination and steadfast never-give-up spirit. Perhaps a bid for the 2026 Games is in the offing?

Bullock said, “My philosophy as a writer and director particularly in the field of sports brands has been to avoid portraying the athletes as superheroes. I’ve done a lot of work grounding athletes as real people. But Akwasi’s story lent itself so directly to the notion of a superhero I eventually gave in and went for it.  The key difference between him and superheroes is he is actually real.  His super power is resilience.”

Bullock concluded, “Everyone who worked on Black Ice got inspired by Akwasi and his resilience and optimism. I think we all took something positive away from the experience. And I loved making this film. Being able to have the freedom to stretch and explore new ways of working is pretty rare. I’m so thankful to On for the trust and faith they placed in my hands. There was an amazing team working on this film around the world – creative professionals in Cape Town, Austria, London, Sydney, Los Angeles and Auckland, for a client in Switzerland.”

Credits

Client On Running Felciano Robayna, executive producer; Gessica Giulini, producer. Production Company Hungry Man Richard Bullock, director; Matt Buels, exec producer; Hannah Stone, Jack Beardsley, producers; Dean Mortensen, illustration; Theo Tennant, Devin Toselli, DPs. Animation Machine of Loving Grace Brett McManus, animation. South African Unit/Production Gatehouse Austrian Unit/Production Creative Creatures Postproduction Heckler Andrew Holmes, lead editor; Coralie Tapper, creative producer; Will Alexander, exec producer; Maud Chapuis, motion graphics; Daniel Page, edit assistant; Fergus Rotherham, colorist. Music & Sound Heckler Sound Dave Robertson, re-recording mixer; Dustin Lau, composer; Bonnie Law, exec producer.

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