Writer-director Christian Schilling headed a team of commercial film students from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany, to make this branded spec short for Duracell. Schilling is an alum of SHOOT’s 2018 New Directors Showcase.
Titled Revived, this piece introduces us to Carl who was born with a cord on his back, on which you have to tug, serving to wind him up like a music box. As a young soldier he awakes on a rubber boat in the middle of a rapid river. Suddenly they are attacked and his friend Henry floats lifeless in the water. A race against time begins, while fragments of his childhood shoot through his mind.
In the end for our main character with his wind-up cord, the power of friendship and the power of the battery is the salvation. The power of friendship charges the main character like a Duracell battery.
The film–which went toward earning diplomas for its creators–was made over the past couple of years with two shooting blocks–during mid-2019 and then at the end of that year. Approximately 80 crew members and just over 100 extras were involved in the making of the film. Just a few weeks ago, visual effects were wrapped on the project and it was released.
Credits
Production/Creative Christian Schilling, writer-director; Simon Drescher, David I. Dincer, DPs; Christian Arnold, Daniel Kottirsch, executive producers; Jan Scheurer, production design; Laura Schaffler, costume designer. Editorial Ernst Lattik, editor Music Alexander Wolf David (wolfsrudelmusic), Peter Sainio, composers; Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, orchestra; Meike Katrin Stein, orchestration. Sound Design hyve.audio Robin Harff, Floyd Fürstenau, sound designers; Johanna Roth, Foley artist; Max Hartstang, Foley recordist. Audio Mix Robin Harff, mixer. Postproduction Slaughterhouse Philipp Breidthardt, post producer. Color Grading acht.studio Maximilian Baule, colorist. Crew Austria/River David I. Dincer, underwater cam operator; Justin Braun, on-set VFX supervisor; Jeannine Bieri, makeup artist; Vanessa Kilchenmann, costume design assistant. Crew Germany/Village Michael Hessenbruch, production coordinator; Boris Katrev, additional VFX; Coline Cisar, costume design assistant; Paolo Celano, Jeannine Bieri, makeup artists/prosthetic. Casting Kastwork Ltd. Cast Agencies BCCreative Ltd, Katie Threlfall Associates. Cast Alex Hope, Angus Dunican, Oskar Netzel, Anton Krymskiy, Natascha Kuch, Gesine Hannemann, Anna Maleika
Stain remover Vanish presents this emotional short film--created by BETC Havas, Sao Paulo, and produced by LOBO--that explores the profound consequences of bullying and highlights the importance of open conversations between parents and children. Titled The Bully Monster, the animated film premiered at the Maquinaria Festival in Rio de Janeiro on February 15 in a special edition featuring family-focused programming.
The film’s protagonist is a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. Isolation turns sadness into insecurity, creating invisible emotional scars that only grow in the absence of dialogue. When his mother notices stains on his uniform, these marks become the starting point for a revealing conversation. As words find space to make themselves heard, the stains begin to fade.
This initiative aligns with the Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign, which, for the past three years during the back-to-school season, has engaged with parents by positioning the brand as a trusted partner in preserving school uniforms. This year, Vanish decided to broaden the conversation, bringing bullying into the debate as the real stain that can impact a child’s life.
The Bully Monster is being screened as preshow material in movie theaters starting February 20 and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. In addition to the film, the campaign will include out-of-home activations and school initiatives through a partnership with Abrace – Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the “Bullying-Free Schools” program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
“Research indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
