Nike is famous for 30 or 60-second ads that capture in a kinetic flash the essence of how it feels to be an athlete. The brand’s latest film – created by Amsterdam agency WE ARE Pi – is an entirely different beast. Crois Pas Qu’On Dort (“Don’t Think We’re Sleeping”) is a feature-length movie about budding athletes from the gritty suburbs of Paris. It took seven years to make.
WE ARE Pi’s co-founder and CEO Alex Bennett-Grant is naturally proud of the film, which in some ways took him back to his roots. “The first thing I did when I graduated in London was get into film and TV production – I did runner jobs and things like that. Then I went into advertising for all these years. I’ve worked on large scale projects in the past, but this was once-in-a-lifetime. To get to be an executive producer, when in my day job I’m a strategist…You know, agencies often claim they ‘create culture’. But with this film we can say that without any self-consciousness.”
The goal was to make an entertaining movie, full of action, confrontation and drama. The trailer suggests the agency – with co-producers SRAB Films and directors Nick Walters and Lou Marillier – succeeded.
The release comes in the wake of WE ARE Pi’s creative rebound after the post-Covid period, when budgets were lean and industry morale low. Alex says the agency emerged by nurturing client relationships and doubling down on creative flair. Recent evidence of that is visible in its work for Virgin Active, “Leave the cult, join the club”, which takes a dig at fakery in the wellness industry.
From music to sport
But let’s return to the main feature. How did it come about? Flashback to 2017. The agency’s new production arm, Pi Studios, had made a film about the history of House music for Channel 4 (“I Was There When House Took Over the World”). It was notable for a strong social media impact. Nike, an existing client, was intrigued. “Back in 2017 Nike were figuring out how to do long form content for a young audience. They loved the idea of telling deeper stories about athletes, but at the time it felt like an alien concept in marketing.”
Nike realised that if they could immerse themselves in the lives of young athletes, they could capture the attention not only of the coming generation, but of anyone who loved a great story. “They excelled at capturing a moment, at turning athletes into action heroes. But what place does sport have in everyday life? That had never been explored in any great depth before.”
Paris had just been awarded the 2024 Olympic Games, so an audacious plan came together. Why not follow a group of upcoming athletes – and back in 2017, they were very young indeed – as they made their way towards the Games? Nike agreed to give the team full creative freedom.
Alex Bennett-Grant: "This film will have a legacy."
Although the film was in essence a documentary, WE ARE Pi always saw it as more than that. “Because of the time frame, this would clearly be an underdog story. Seven years out from success, you’re an underdog. It would also be a coming of age story. So now we were talking about the codes of cinema: teenage angst, the push-and-pull between family and commitment to your sport. We were thinking of films like Boyhood and Hoop Dreams, all these cinematic references that now became references for us.”
A movie – and a film school
The completed film features Charles-Antoine, a runner with an intellectual disability; and Leyna and Maysane, twin sisters who are coached in taekwondo by their father, as the sport is part of the Laotian-Algerian family’s heritage.
The casting process was long and rigorous. Casting scouts identified an initial 500 possibilities. Test shoots then took place. Some of them were just for a day. Others lasted three-to-six months. And other athletes were followed for several years. Out of those “finalists”, the trio in the film were picked.
“It wasn’t just about the athletes themselves. We needed to gain access to their families, their coaches, their lives. We needed that intimacy – otherwise it would have been just another documentary.”
This prompted the agency and the French line producer Soldats to become closely embroiled in the communities seen on screen. Young residents were recruited to work on the production, turning it into a film school.
“One of the things we needed to fix early on was that film crews in general are not representative of the communities we were working in,” Alex explains. This made it hard, if not impossible, for the film-makers to gain full access. “So we worked with Soldats to not just find, but to teach a new generation of production talent. We had time on our side, so I felt we might be able to make a significant contribution to the communities and also to the French film industry.”
Alex remembers calling the producers for an update and being told, “We’ve got about 60 people." He says: “For a community, for a generation, that’s not nothing. It means this film will have a legacy.”
The film will get a première at the Grand Rex cinema in Paris in January, followed by a two-day run on around 500 cinema screens across the country. Because of the strict rules about streaming in France – which require a gap of 15 to 17 months following theatrical release – the limited run will ensure that the film can be streamed far earlier than usual.
Although the film was backed by Nike, branding is not front and centre. Alex is immensely grateful to the client for enabling something that is not “branded content”, but a genuine feature film. “The way Nike supported us on this journey has been absolutely unique. It took a huge amount of trust and patience. I couldn’t imagine doing it with any other brand.”