Johan Stahl of production house REVERSE directed this marquee trailer–titled “Play: The Power of Ideas”–for the upcoming Newport Beach Film Festival out of WPP agency Garage Team Mazda.
The promotional film features a boy who is caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce. In an effort to escape, he retreats into the comfort of his imagination. What the lad doesn’t realize is the power that his ideas have on the world.
“By grounding the story in an easily relatable reality–a classic divorce scenario with familiar tropes and gender roles — it sets the viewer up to quickly see the disparity between the parents’ world and the boy’s world, and ultimately, express central themes around imagination, cinematic storytelling, and the theme of this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival: ‘The Power of Ideas,’” said director Stahl.
“Our goal is always to make a promotional film as compelling as the films accepted into this intensely selective festival,” said Melissa Webber, Garage Team Mazda creative director.
Credits
Client Newport Beach Film Festival Agency Garage Team Mazda Erich Funke, chief creative officer; Melissa Webber, SVP, creative director/writer; Daniel Bremmer, creative director/writer; Larry Struber, SVP, director integrated content; Jessica Mirolla, art producer. Production REVERSE Johan Stahl, director; Thibaut Estellon, exec producer/founder; Larry Gold, Luigi Rossi, producers; Shelly Johnson, ASC, DP; Michelle Thompson, costume designer; Nora Takacs, production designer; Michael Martino, 1st asst. camera; Melissa Gwizdowski, hair/makeup; Marcel Banks, FX makeup; Chuck Henrey, 1st assistant director; Gus Bechtold, 2nd assistant director/2nd asst. camera; Zac Knight, special effects; Porcelain Brisbon, production manager; Matthew Cheaton, production coordinator. Editorial jumP Editorial Erwin Frraterman, editor; Therese Hunsberger, exec producer; Natasha Sattler, producer; Roy Herbert, assistant editor; Thom Reimerink, Flame artist. VFX Ingenuity Grant Miller, David Lebensfeld, VFX supervisors; Kieley Culbertson, sr. producer; Brigitte Stanovick, Kymberly Murphy, VFX producers; Robert Cohen, VFX coordinator; Ashley Nizich, compositing coordinator; Zhe Chong, compositing supervisor; Ben Stommes, Patrick Louie, Krisztian Csanki, compositors; Anna Harari, CG coordinator; Paul Baran, Kevin Pinga, FX; Lucas Smarker, animations; Viviana Torrellas, layout. Color Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, sr. colorist; Ashley McKim, exec producer; Katie Andrews, Matt Moran, sr. producers. Audio Post Juice Studios Scott Burns, mixer; Vanessa Carey, producer. Music/Sound Yessian Music & Sound Design David Gold, exec producer; Brian Yessian, chief creative officer/partner. Casting Face In The Crowd Casting Maryclaire Sweeters, casting director.
Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for this short film titled Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. “Edges of Ailey” is currently on view at the Whitney until February 9.
Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history--physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.
“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film--or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”
Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from "I’ve Been Buked," the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary "Revelations." Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization. The short film first premiered on Nowness.
