Titled Hey Charlie, this heart-wrenching video from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation follows a lad named Charlie as he grows up. We see a healthy, normal, promising life turned upside down by opioid addiction.
Robert Smyth of Heavy Pictures and Brinkley Smithers directed this docu-style piece.
The Smithers Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1952 by R. Brinkley Smithers in memory of his late father. Originally, the purpose of the Foundation was to carry on the charitable activities pursued by Mr. Christopher D. Smithers during his lifetime. However, after attending the Yale School of Alcohol Studies in 1956, R. Brinkley Smithers decided that the family charitable foundation should concentrate on alcohol use disorder and addiction, and on educating the public that addiction is a medical illness.
Credits
Client The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation and LICADD Agency/Production Company Heavy Pictures Robert Smyth, Brinkley Smithers, directors; Robert Smyth, creative director/writer, producer; Brinkley Smithers, writer; Steven Chassman, executive producer (LICADD); Robert Smyth, executive producer (Heavy); Christopher B. Smithers, Nikkii Smithers, exec producers (LICADD); Cheyenne Cage, producer; Andy Catarisano, DP; Joseph Polacik, production designer; Brooke Bennett, wardrobe; Charles Zambrano, hair/makeup. Editorial Nathan Caswell, editor. Music Ryan Taubert, Sonja El Demerdash, Fabio Capelli, coposers. Sound Design Source Sound Charles Deenen, sound designer.
Blinkink director Jack Brown created this stop motion film to tell a handmade story for Tekla’s holiday campaign.
Established in Copenhagen in 2017, Tekla was born from a desire to bring modernity and freedom of expression to the homeware category. As a brand, it rejects rapid trend cycles by designing for longevity, with an uncompromising focus on quality and responsible production. Brown’s use of stop-motion animation, using only Tekla fabrics, places both the brand’s story and its values front and center.
The film takes us on the journey of a teddy bear exploring the enchanted interiors of the Tekla Copenhagen store. The vibe feels dreamlike and the addition of stop motion adds a tenderness to the film. Inspired by the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, the campaign features iconic figures and nods to his fairytales; the towering mattresses of The Princess and the Pea, the magical umbrella of The Sandman, and the floating luggage of The Flying Trunk.
Brown said, “What an amazing little project this was, and for such a great brand. Tekla was such a cool client to work with. I suggested making the whole ad out of their fabrics and within 24 hours, there were boxes of beautiful fabrics being delivered for us to cut to pieces. Everything you see is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper and all hand cut, stitched and animated by a very small team of very talented people. Anita Bruvere was the lead builder and animator and did such an amazing job of turning all these tiny pieces of fabric into a magical world.”
