51st Regielounge Sees Nicolette Krebitz Present ‘Wild’ to Advertising Industry in Berlin

The 51st Regielounge (Directors Lounge) took place on Thursday evening in Berlin. The event was held in the Universal Hall in the Moabit district and was attended by around 1,000 guests, invited by Steffen Gentis, Chief Production Officer of BBDO Group Germany. Co-hosting with Gentis, the initiator of the Directors Lounge, was Ton Hollander, Chief Creative Director of the BBDO Berlin advertising agency.

One of the evening's star guests was Nicolette Krebitz. The well-known actor and director, who starred in such successful movies as "Bandits", showed extracts from "WILD", the third movie she has directed. This film, which can be viewed in cinemas from April 14 onward, features the love between a young woman and a wolf. Krebitz, a past winner of the Grimme Prize, relates a tale of freedom and happiness in the movie, which is at the same time powerful, sensuous, fascinating and disturbing. It tells the story of a young woman who turns her back on our tacit acceptance of civilization and opts instead for a life free from conventional comforts and safeguards.

Other guests at the Regielounge included two up-and-coming stars of the advertising film scene: Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz, both students at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. They showed, among other things, their "Dear Brother" ad for the Johnnie Walker whisky brand. This clip has already been viewed more than three and a half million times in the internet. It is considered to be one of last year's most moving commercials and was voted "best student advertising film" by trade magazine Adweek.

A further highlight was the work of Jules Janaud and Fabrice Le Nezet, directors with the prestigious London-based production company "The Mill" and known simply as "bif". The filmmakers have been collaborating since 2001 and have scooped more than 50 awards with their commercials, short films and music clips. Their most recent projects include the teaser film for the Playground Festival 2014 (Ciclope award winner and prizewinner at the London International Awards) and the music video for electronic artist Azel Phara. The commercials for brands such as Ford and Nokia also underscore their willingness to experiment: bif use diverse media and animated 3D visuals in order to tell their stories imaginatively.

Among the guests was also British director and award-winning filmmaker Adam Smith. He achieved fame through his collaboration with the band Chemical Brothers, for which he has produced music videos and concert films as well as surreal, visionary animations for their stage shows. Nowadays he is an Associate Partner at RSA Films, a film and commercial production company formed by celebrated director Sir Ridley Scott. Smith directed six episodes of the BBC production of Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit", which won numerous Emmy awards. His most recent advertising spots include clips for Nike with England's soccer international Wayne Rooney and for the F-Type Jaguar with actor Damien Lewis.

Photographer and advertising film director Charlie Crane also presented some of his work at the Regielounge, including the four-minute ad "No bed like home" for furniture giant IKEA. Crane made his breakthrough into the advertising film scene with his TV clips "One" and "Surfer" for Howies, the outdoor apparel brand. At present Crane collaborates with internationally renowned advertising agencies such as AMV BBDO, Wieden+Kennedy and BBH.

The artist and photographer Peter Engblom presented a selection of his "Photoshop Legends" at the Regielounge. The former museum designer lives in Zululand, a district of South Africa where he grew up in the bush and where he is now an "artist in residence". His work, which is on display in museum collections all over the world, centers on the unexpected similarity between South Africa's Ubuntu culture and Japan's Samurai culture.

Organized by the BBDO Group for the 51st time, the advertising film night is an ideal platform for directors to present their work to the German market. Creative and influential decision-makers in both the advertising and film sectors use the event to obtain an overview of the latest trends in creative work as well as to get to know directors personally.