Client: Nike
Agency: Wieden & Kennedy
Advertising Agency: Wieden & Kennedy, Tokyo, Japan
Production Company: Noir
Director: Crowns & Owls
Producer: Javier Alejandro
Country: South Korea
Published: June 2020
Synopsis:
The story of Shim Suk-hee; the gold medalist speed skater and national icon whose bravery in confronting her experience with systematic physical, sexual and mental abuse within 2019 South Korean sport triggered a widespread movement which forever changed legislation and discourse around the subject. Crowns & Owls Directors "We were extremely fortunate to have been given amazing freedom to explore how to best convey this story which carries so much weight and importance. We developed an idea of setting the piece inside an ominous concrete tunnel, where Shim starts her journey alone, before being joined by the next generation in Korean speed skating, who follow her out of the darkness and into the light. The piece was a big technical challenge, requiring us to build a huge tunnel in one of South Korea’s largest indoor ice rinks and think of innovative ways of capturing the graceful action of the fastest woman on ice. Our amazing set designer and long time collaborator James Hamilton came with us across the world to build us the tunnel we dreamt of, and we worked closely with the incredibly talented DoP Pat Aldinger, who helped us to devise various techniques to capture an ambitious shot list. Technocranes, snoricams, ice rickshaws and two amazing local ice hockey players who learned to be camera operators within two days were just some of the elements we relied on to tell this story. The whole experience was truly incredible, and we feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity and the trust to handle this sensitive narrative. We’re so grateful to have had the support of our producer Javier Alejandro at Noir Productions, who did the unthinkable by making this entire film happen.