This interdisciplinary performance art film for Louis XIII Cognac–titled Believe in Time–was led by Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and visual artist Solange Knowles, who also composed an original piece of music for the project, in collaboration with Chinese couture designer Guo Pei, and French-Senegalese Cannes Festival’s Grand Prix winning director Mati Diop (Atlantics). Imagined and developed by creative agency Fred & Farid Los Angeles, the film reminds us of the human being’s place in the universe, and the infinite time it takes for great things to happen. Louis XIII Cognac expresses its unique relation to time by paying tribute to Mother Earth.
Knowles stated, “Time and space are really at the foundation of my expressions. I’m a strong believer that the space and time surrounding our work is just as important as the work itself, and world making has been a part of my practice for quite some time now. These ideas align with what is being expressed with Louis XIII’s creation, Believe in Time. The question of time is always in my container of consciousness while creating. In most of my own work, whether it be music, film, or sculpture, I try to give thought on how future generations will discover it; and so, to be aligned on these ideas gave me great interest in the type of projects Louis XIII has been creating. I’ve been a huge fan of Mati Diop’s Atlantics, and Guo Pei’s incredible craftsmanship and jumped at the conversations to collaborate with them. Being able to bring all of these facets of creation by composing an original musical score really brought this project to life.”
Credits
Client Louis XIII Cognac Agency Fred & Farid Los Angeles Fred & Farid, chief creative officers; Nicolas Berthier, creative director; Radouane Guissi, Bridget Callahan, art director; Ciana Alessi, jr. copywriter; Amanda Van Caneghem, executive producer. Production Division Mati Diop, director; Laure Salgon, Jules de Chateleux, exec producers. Production Services TwentyfourSeven Oriol Rodriguez, exec producer; Aurelie Bruneau, producer; Marie Mezeray, production coordinator; Olivier Gossot, DP; Miguel Ramos, makeup lead; Evanie Frausto, hair lead; Kyle Luu, styling lead; Ana Murillas, stylist; Marie Lanna, production designer; Maya Alexis, choreographer/movement director; Clémence Cuvelier, head of postproduction; Adriana Legay, Stephane Peirrera, lead editors; Roxane Faure Huet, Zoé Sassier, Elodie Fouqueau, Lola Bongiovanni, supporting editors; Katie Dailey, supporting writer; Arthur Paux, colorist; Chris Parks, fluids filmmaker. Sound House Kouz Gregoire Couzinier, sound producer; Brunot Porret, sound studio manager; Marine Sellem, music supervisor. VFX & Online The Mill Paris Fabrice Damolini, exec producer; Jeremy Wulff, VFX supervisor; Benjamin Cathala, VFX producer; Francois Belliart, Lea Gonzales, matte painting; Jeremy Wulff, Manon Baillet, Max Loriot, motion design; Marouan El Bekri, Randy Gudin, Jérôme Auliac, compositing; Alex Corcoy, asset maker; Sebastien Kremer, Flame. Music Solange, composer & score. Beijing Shoot Beijing Eye Sasha Alderson, exec producer; Zhihan Zhang, Hans Zhang, DPs.
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
