MAAVVEN and Scheme Engine Unveil 'A Dream Come True' Film for PUMA x Balmain Collaboration

BIPOC-owned production company Scheme Engine has partnered with creative studio, MAAVVEN and Nina McNeely as creative director to co-produce the launch of the second Balmain x PUMA collaboration. Merging Parisian luxury heritage and American basketball frenzy, 'A Dream Come True', stars (W)NBA stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kyle Kuzma.

The 60” film opens as a flashback from Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kyle Kuzma, as they reflect upon their childhood aspirations. Starring younger versions of the athletes, it blends their experiences with classic childhood tropes to capture the challenges of being a teenager with a dream. Determined to manifest becoming the ‘one in a million’ that make it to (W)NBA, the young athletes prove the naysayers wrong and keep at their passion, ultimately validated when they are met with the vision of their older selves, aspirations fulfilled.

Combining director Charles Todd’s love for adventure in storytelling and Nina McNeely’s fluency with surrealism and movement as expression, the campaign tells an intimate story of perseverance dotted with playful moments of the fantastical. While the children are separated from their older selves, only watching them from afar or through a screen, Charles’ visual storytelling ensures that their connection remains palpable, as they sense one another’s presence and watch as their dreams transform into reality.

To achieve the ‘90s look dominant during the sports stars’ childhoods, the crew shot at a high school in Phoenix that embodied the aesthetic. Stylist Savannah Baker enhanced this through authentic styling and cinematographer Gaul Porat also studied the camerawork of the era to piece together a quintessentially ‘90s visual language. Particular influences for the creatives included Spike Lee’s unique blend of surrealism and the African American experience, as well as Danny DeVito’s Matilda - a classic example of storytelling from a child's point of view. 

Featuring a humorous cameo from a talking rabbit, the commercial is elevated through imagery from the unconscious mind and surrealism. Inspired by the impossible visions we see in our sleep, the film uses choreography to best articulate the concept of dreaming, further enhanced through the children's choir movements, where the footage was played in reverse to achieve an unsettling dream-like quality. 

Accompanying the film is an empowering aspirational poem written by Charles and performed by poet, activist, and artist Fanta Ballo. Another outlet for Charles to express his beliefs on the power of dreams and manifestation, the poem was inspired by Langston Hughes’ 'Harlem', and poses the important question of ‘skill versus will’.

Nina McNeely, creative director at MAAVVEN comments, “I enjoyed reflecting on my own childhood dreams and tried to transport myself to high school to see if I could remember how it felt and how that feeling could be expressed in this project.”

Nina adds, “We had so much fun auditioning all the kids. Casting was done through Zoom, with each potential child actor acting out a scene before demonstrating their basketball skills. The team looked for athletic promise paired with faces that conveyed innocence and self-assurance without feeling overly polished to deliver authentic performances.”

Charles Todd, director at Scheme Engine, comments, “I’ve always been fascinated by the shared qualities of a dream and a memory, specifically the possibility that these phenomena could be one and the same. With this story, we explored that concept through one of the most powerful yet delicate forces on earth: the imagination of our youth. I loved exploring the deep-rooted connection between our (W)NBA stars and their former selves, pondering how it would feel to come into contact with a personal dream.”