Written and Directed by Edoardo Ponti
Starring: Helena Christensen, David Gandy
Executive Producer: Nicolas Roeg (!!!)
DoP: Angus Hudson

“W London lifts the figurative lense cap off of a fictitious guest Alex Worthington. Shot on location in Leicester Square, “Away We Stay” written and directed by Edoardo Ponti, is a romantic tale of love, life and the choices we make in the middle…”

I was torn about featuring this one. It’s all over the net already and it’s not even a fashion film. Still, it’s a good example for what I recently spoke with media agency SWELL about: branded shorts.
Basically, it’s a subtly branded short film featuring a well-known model and some high value aesthetics. It’s quite well done, mind you. But only if you judge it by the criterias of a commercial (even more accurate: of a corporate video). On the other hand, for a dramatic short film, it’s quite mediocre and barely can stay on it’s own feet.

The story of a photographer which looses touch with reality (obviously borrowed from Antonioni’s classic “Blow Up”) lacks any interesting dialogues, original settings or dramatic impact. Director Edoardo Ponti seems quite content with just making pretty (OK – very pretty) and clichéd pictures. Really, this looks and feels like a student film with a way too large budget. But maybe this rant is premature, since this is only the first part in a series (!)…

All in all, looks like it’s still a fair way to go until the ambitious intentions of such a “branded short” can correspond with the artistic demands of “real” filmmaking. Btw, this also goes for Guy Richies recent endeavor into this genre for Dior Homme which felt even more awkward.

However, just watch it and make up your own opinion about it…

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