SIFF
40th Annual Promo Campaign
Partying with the Legends of Film
Promo Trailer, Print
THE CHALLENGE
Boogie into the Night
The Seattle International Film Festival was approaching it’s 40th anniversary (we know, impossible, it doesn’t look a day over 25!) and wanted to celebrate both the wide range of films throughout the festival’s storied history and the people who love them. The objective was to devise a new promo trailer that would bring together film characters and festival-goers alike for a truly unique celebration.
In other words: let’s throw a massive f’ing party.
OUR APPROACH
An Affair to Remember
Along with our co-conspirators, WongDoody, we knew this couldn’t be just another ‘ole night where the neighbors call the police. No. We needed to party with the police…except Sting couldn’t make it, which really bummed us out for a second. Something that combined equal parts “real world” and film clips in a way that felt unified and cohesive. An epic blowout where breakdancers, male strippers, Godzilla and Chloe Sevigny could all rock out together into the night until someone’s face melts off like the dude in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
THE INVITE
Dazed but Not Confused
To maintain a coherent campaign, despite the boozy event at hand, we crafted a poster for the year’s milestone festival that served as a proper invitation. Silver mylar balloons and a frozen spray of champagne all build to a not-so-subtle hint of the good times to come.
THE EVENT
Pump Up The Volume
When it came time to shoot the live action portion of the party, we fought for the chance to douse Seattle’s iconic Egyptian Theater in blue and magenta, add in some throbbing strobe lights, mylar balloons, about 100 extras and a bunch of expensive camera equipment. We even threw a dude named Brian (great name, btw) into a prom dress for an homage to the (original) movie Carrie and had him set the party on fire with a golden glitter bomb. Local EDM band Super Square put it all to music with a raging dance song produced exclusively for us titled “Light The SIFF Up”. And they were kind enough to lend their crowd pumping skills by chanting “ham-ster!” while performing on set. We’re still trying to figure out what that means.
THE CROWD
Practical Magic
Integrating iconic scenes from SIFF’s archives of nearly 6000 films, ranging from international independents and documentaries to this interesting indie film called The Empire Strikes Back, into our 60 second party was no small operation. Austin Powers had to be replaced by our guy Leonard in a sexy game of cat and mouse with Heather Graham. Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl from Knocked Up cannot seem to get a darn bag of popcorn, while our gal Kate cheers on the fellas from The Full Monty, and yes, the actual face melt from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
THE OUTCOME
A Labyrinth of Entertainment
Does Godzilla have a giant sized tub of popcorn in his claws? Is that a SIFF balloon being exploded behind some angry looking dude? Damned right it is. Everything from the projected light on the crowd to the elements flowing from the bottle of champagne in the poster–a maze of Easter Eggs for the well-versed film lover awaits. We dare you to find all the references.
