Part of Droga5's "Chapter Two" campaign for Prudential financial services, this docu short introduces us to retired postal worker Carol Lewis who shares her long-time love of filmmaking and her desire to be a director.
Filmmaking becomes the second chapter of her life now that she is a retiree.
TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay, the 2012 Ocar-winning documentarians behind Undefeated, directed this profile of Lewis–and later provided support for her directorial debut.
Credits
Client Prudential Agency Droga5 New York David Droga, creative chairman; Ted Royer, chief creative officer; Kevin Brady, executive creative director; Ray Del Savio, Jerry Hoak, creative directors; Bryan Wolff, Ant White, copywriters; Daniel Sumarna, Karen Short, art directors; Sally-Ann Dale, chief creation officer; Ben Davies, head of broadcast production; Anders Hedberg, sr. producer; David Justus, technology director; Teodor Florea, head of brand strategy; Zach Foster, brand strategy director. Production Brainwashed Martin+Lindsay, directors; Kathy Saelee, production manager. Editorial Cut+Run NY Isaac Chen, editor; Ryan Harrington, assistant editor; Rana Martin, Carr Schilling, exec producers; Remy Foxx, Ashley Thompson, producers. Post Company 3.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”