In Montefiore Einstein hospital’s “There’s Magic in All of Us,” produced by SMUGGLER for ad agency Alto, Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper taps into the essence of the holiday spirit. The film stars a real boy with cerebral palsy, not an actor, whose life transforms with the help of eye-tracking technology, as he embarks on a whimsical journey above New York City with his brother. The film works successfully to seamlessly blend storytelling, technology, and visual effects, delivering an inspiring holiday message.
Representing underrepresented groups on screen mattered deeply to everyone involved with the project. Hooper, as well as Alto and Montefiore, felt it was necessary to cast a real child with a disability. Furthermore, from a craft standpoint, the cinematic film was scored by composer Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Hooper on The King’s Speech and has two Academy Awards of his own, for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water. Visual effects were done by The Mill.
Credits
Client Montefiore Einstein Loreen Babcock, SVP, chief marketing officer. Agency Alto New York Hanes Ciatti, chief creative officer, founder; Matt Bonin, managing partner, entertainment + production; Ed Rogers, managing partner; Tara Fray, head of strategy, partner; Dan Kroeger, Pierre Janneau, executive creative directors/partners; Anthony Goldstein, Chris Groom, creative directors; Ben Berkon, Mark Johnston, executive producers, film; Filipe Nogueira, art director. Production Company SMUGGLER Tom Hooper, director; Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, exec producers; Sue Yeon Ahn, managing director/exec producer; Alex Hughes, head of production; Mary Livingston, producer; Jonathan Mayo, production supervisor; Troy Cribbin, Jennifer Beliard, commercial coordinators; Peter Jackson, 1st AD; Steven Annis, DP; Ethan Tobman, production designer; Lee Ann Jarvis, costume designer. Casting Vitamin Enriched Katherine Foronjy, casting director. Music Alexandre Desplat, composer. Editorial Final Cut Jim Helton, editor; Sarah Roebuck, exec producer; Wade Weliever, sr. producer; Alyce Muhammad, assistant editor. Post/VFX The Mill Matt Fuller, creative director; Angela Lupo, managing director, exec producer; Ed Rilli, sr. producer. Color Grade Company 3 Sofie Friis Borup, colorist; Shannen Troup, producer. Sound Design & Mix Barking Owl Gus Koven, sound designer; Matt Keith, mix engineer; Ashley Benton, exec producer.
Continuing their partnership to combat the mental health crisis among America’s youth, the Ad Council and McCann New York have released the latest installment of the “Sound It Out” campaign which focuses on helping parents and caregivers have meaningful conversations with their kids about emotional wellbeing.
The new work, “Listening is a Form of Love,” focuses on the important role parents and caregivers play in supporting young people’s emotional wellbeing and is supported by new data from Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker. The survey highlights that: 55% of youth (ages 10-24) report mental health struggles; and one in five youth report symptoms of depression, and one in four report symptoms of anxiety.
The film includes an interactive digital experience that invites parents to practice “holding space” by pressing the space bar to listen to kids sharing what they wish their parents could hear, in their own words. Along with this literal interpretation of the active listening the campaign encourages, the website also gives valuable tools to help parents and caregivers be better listeners, and in turn, better support their kids.
There is also this 60-second PSA--directed by Alex Fischman Cardenas via Greenpoint Pictures--which underscores the power and importance of listening to your loved ones.
