SUB CATEGORY :

DIRECTING

ENTRANT COMPANY :

FINCH, SYDNEY

TITLE :

THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO HAVE HERPES - ANGELLA DRAVID

BRAND :

NEW ZEALAND HERPES FOUNDATION

ADVERTISER :

NEW ZEALAND HERPES FOUNDATION

AGENCY :

MOTION SICKNESS, AUCKLAND

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

SAM STUCHBURY

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

MEL FIOLITAKIS

SENIOR CREATIVE :

WILL MACDONALD

PHOTOGRAPHER TVC :

JORDAN STENT

HEAD OF PRODUCTION :

JOSEPH MCALPINE

ACCOUNT MANAGER :

JOE FRAEI

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

FINCH, SYDNEY

MANAGING DIRECTOR :

COREY ESSE

DIRECTOR :

ALEX ROBERTS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :

MARTY WILLIAMS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER :

REBEKAH ‘BEX’ KELLY

FILM PRODUCER :

DUNCAN BERNARD

PRODUCTION DESIGNER :

JOSEPH LEARY

GRADING :

PETE RITCHIE

STYLIST :

OLIVIA DOBSON

WARDROBE :

OLIVIA DOBSON

EDITOR :

LUKA TURJAK

COLORIST :

PETE RITCHIE

SPECIAL EFFECTS :

STU BEDFORD

POST PRODUCER :

JADON MILLER

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

BIG POP STUDIOS, AUCKLAND

ENGLISH SYNOPSIS :

Herpes affects billions of people worldwide, and so does the stigma. One in three Kiwis have the virus that leads to genital herpes and up to 80 percent of New Zealanders will get genital or oral herpes at some stage in their lives. To mark Global Herpes Awareness Day on 13 October, the New Zealand Herpes Foundation wanted to launch a campaign to destigmatise the virus.

The world’s first ‘herpes destigmatisation campaign’ aims to lower the stigma surrounding the virus and raise New Zealand’s national pride at the same time. In an effort to educate the entire nation and dismantle the stigma, the campaign features local legends including Sir Ashley Bloomfield, Sir Graham Henry, Sir Buck Shelford, Angella Dravid, and Mea Motu as celebrity presenters in the 'Herpes Destigmatisation Course’—a series of lessons that condense multiple educational resources—often left unread—into accessible, approachable and comedic content.

ENGLISH CONTEXT EXPLANATION :

The films star some local New Zealand celebrities: Sir Ashley Bloomfield, Sir Graham Henry, Sir Buck Shelford, boxing champ Mea Motu, comedian Angella Dravid, Dame Sue Bagshaw and Real Housewives of Auckland star Anne Batley-Burton.

The key visuals from the creative brief had a nostalgic feel from better times in NZ. This prompted the director to make the whole thing feel like a sex education video from the 80s.

A key challenge was finding a classroom that felt like a time capsule, with an art dept budget of only $2.5k. A school was found with heritage classrooms that haven’t been altered since the 70’s. This was a unicorn location that gave the films their aesthetic.

Limitations create opportunities. The director had to shoot 10mins of content in one day, with a production budget under $50k. With complicated film language out the window, this was going to hinge on performance.

The humour comes from the awkwardness of delivery. When you linger on things, and when you leave the shot going, the pauses make the performances feel comically awkward.