Welcome to the future neighborhood. As we hear a “Beautiful Day” serenade, we see a succession of people seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are in the midst of natural disasters.
A couple pushes a baby stroller along the sidewalk in the face of a powerful wind storm. Next, we see campers enjoying the great outdoors with a bonfire next to their tent–while the countryside behind them is ablaze, almost fully engulfed in flames. And finally we see a flooded neighborhood in which we see a man, waist deep in water, washing his car which itself is about two-third submerged. Also in the flood scenario, two guys are tossing a football back and forth, and further in the background it appears yet another man is cooking a meal on his barbecue.
A supered message than appears which simply reads, “Ignoring global warming won’t make it go away,” followed by an end tag carrying the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) logo.
“Beautiful Day” was directed and shot by Chris Sargent via Untitled, Toronto, for FCB, Toronto.
Peter Davis executive produced for Untitled, with Tom Evelyn serving as producer.
The FCB team consisted of executive VP/creative director Robin Heisey, VP/group creative director/art director Joe Piccolo, associate creative director/copywriter Chris Taciuk and co-head of production Judy Hamilton.
Editor was Pete McAuley of AXYZ, Toronto. Irene Payne produced for AXYZ with Dave Giles and Joel Saunders the Inferno artists from that studio. Audio post mixer was Toronto-based freelancer Paul Seeley.
Contributors from Rosnick Mackinnon Webster (RMW), Toronto, were music arranger Mark Hukezlie, sound designer Vlad Nikolic and producer Ted Rosnick.
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More