The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are approaching and although they are a major sporting event, they attract less attention than the Olympic Games.
So, to change the way people look at paralympic sports, telecommunications company Orange, a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Games, has launched a campaign to show that the greatest performances aren’t always where you expect them to be, and to encourage as many people as possible to let themselves be carried away by sporting emotions whatever they may be.
With the powerful and inclusive message “When you love sport, you love sport,” Orange and Publicis Conseil have created a visual experience in this film–produced by Prodigious–by juxtaposing the men’s T13 1500m final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with that of the Olympic Games of the same year.
The images are identical in every way, the tension at the start of the race, the suspense right up to the finish line and the explosion of joy right afterwards, yet there is a difference in this film: 1.71 seconds.
At the end of the race, the film reveals a surprising truth: for the first time in history, a para-athlete finished 1.71 seconds ahead of the Olympic gold medalist.
And that’s not all; there are four para-athletes in total who achieved a better time than the Olympic champion.
This revelation highlights the excellence and exceptional performance of Paralympic athletes, defying all expectations and redefining the limits of sport.
CreditsClient Orange Agency Publicis Conseil Agathe Bousquet, CEO, Publicis Groupe France; Marco Venturelli, CEO, Publicis Conseil, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe France; Romulus Petcan, Gabriel Gherca, creative directors; Vincent Teffene, artistic director; Antonin Jacquot, copywriter; Sarah Lemarie, creative strategy lead; Theo Tiret, Sophie Caron, strategic planning. Production Prodigious Olivier Guillou, head of production; Maxime Singer, Joel Tessonneau, sound production; Veronique Quemere, Valerie Chelle, coordination; Xavier Pichot, casting; Franck-Herve Marc, Pierre-Arthur Goulet, head of postproduction; Pierre-Hadrien Bardeau, Nicolas Carbon, editing; Lise Dorsemaine, calibration. Music Track Title: “Synthetic Burn”; Markus Gleissner (BMI) 100%, compositor; Ed.Berlin Production Music / Universal Production Music GmbH [GEMA] 100%, publishers. Album: Into the Future
Filmmaker Natalie Johns Creates Spec Gun Violence Prevention PSA
Her social media feed is filled with frustration and “prayers” for families torn apart by yet another mass shooting as filmmaker Natalie Johns is engaged in the morning ritual of negotiating school attendance with her 4½-year-old. Between laughing and arguing with their daughter, the Johns think deeply about the prospect of waking up without her--deeply enough to feel an inch of what it might be like to lose her--a feeling profound enough inspire her most personal commitment to date as a filmmaker.
“Gun violence should not be a normalized part of life in America,” she noted. “I felt it was worth putting my whole heart on the line to deliver this message.”
The director invited her long-time collaborator and cinematographer, Bill Kirstein (Mean Girls, Happyend), to capture their family’s experience over several mornings in a spec PSA. She wanted to capture her own joy and truth as a parent with a view to inspiring action from the deepest love she has known.
On the third day of filming, Johns received an email from their daughter’s preschool notifying parents of a lockdown that had occurred due to a gunman outside the school. The children, aged 2-5, were gathered in a small bathroom for an hour, singing songs with their teachers while the man was apprehended by law enforcement. This was the family’s first narrow escape from tragedy.
“The coincidence of filming this PSA and experiencing my family’s first lockdown was both shocking and surreal. I simply could not wrap my head around it,” said director Johns.
Even more terrifying for Johns was discussing the incident with other parents who had already experienced several lockdowns with their older children. This reality is all too common and far too... Read More