Meta’s Vision for the Metaverse Helps Everyone Go Farther

Droga5 and Meta’s newest campaign called 'Amani' tells the story of Team Amani, a group of cyclists from East Africa trying to make their mark on the world of cycling and their use of Meta’s technologies including WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram to connect and compete on a global scale. 

The Team Amani film captures the immersive ways that the metaverse can help people connect in a way they couldn’t have otherwise. It reflects the team’s dream to making it to the sport’s greatest stage.

Mike Hasinoff, executive producer from Droga5 said, “ All footage was shot in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa over the course of a month. All cycling footage was captured using multiple cameras, everything from an Alexa to a drone, Super-8 and even a Fisher-Price and FlipCam Video Recorder. We also worked with the legendary Tony Hill to design bespoke rigs to play off the circular motion of a bike wheel.”

Tragically, Amani’s team captain Sule Kangangi lost his life in an accident at a high-speed race in Vermont on August 27th. Team Amani remains committed to realising his ambitions, describing him as ‘our guiding pole star as we press forward in the realisation of his dream’. 

Droga5 senior art director Ben Muckensturm says, “In the wake of the Kangangi tragedy, Team Amani "remains committed to realising his ambitions." 

In partnership with Love Song, we tapped into directing duo Illimité World to be the perfect storytellers for this underdog cycling story. ILLIMITEWORLD (French for 'Limitless World') consist of two up-and-coming directors of colour - Aus Taylor and Marleaux Desiré - 'The world is y(ours)' is a mantra used by the native-Baltimore duo, using it as a reminder that each artistic offering is a view into the world of their imaginations. Using an experimental combination of classical cinema, creative animation and raw documentary style filmmaking, they share with viewers a surprising perspective of the modern world.

Daniel Wolfe, who also executive produced Meta’s award-winning and Emmy-nominated film 'Skate Nation Ghana,' served again as executive producer on the film. Known as a trusted mentor to many young directors, he collaborated closely with ILLIMITEWORLD to capture the riders competing in the metaverse with a blend of both striking visuals and human depth. 

Added Hasinoff, “This production follows in the footsteps of what we set up with Love Song with 'Skate Nation Ghana.' With that film, we set out to use the production to try to help bring about systemic change with regards to DEI in production in our industry. We approached Daniel Wolfe, a trusted close collaborator and mentor to many young directors, and discussed a unique director structure: three young directors from the West African diaspora (Bafic, Elliott Power and Justyna Obasi). We’ve now pushed this model to another level with this latest film, with ILLIMITEWORLD also supported by the next generation of three young assistant directors on some of their first productions.”

The ‘Amani’ campaign will run on Facebook and Instagram and off platform. Off platform distribution includes broadcast (e.g. ABC, NBC, CBS, etc), online video and connected TV (e.g. YouTube, Wired, CNBC, Conde Nast). A few TV program highlights for our launch week include the VMA’s, bachelor, America’s Got Talent, Master Chef, and MLB.