A man is alone in an empty room. He realizes that the walls surrounding him are closing in. As the walls near he is brutally faced with the inevitable shrinkage of the space in which he tries, in vain, to evolve. An off-screen voice explains to the spectator all of the things that a person diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND ) or Lou Gehrig's disease, will no longer be able to accomplish as the disease progresses
Story
A man is alone in an empty room. He realizes that the walls surrounding him are closing in. As the walls near he is brutally faced with the inevitable shrinkage of the space in which he tries, in vain, to evolve. An off-screen voice explains to the spectator all of the things that a person diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND ) or Lou Gehrig's disease, will no longer be able to accomplish as the disease progresses. His diminishing capacity, and eventually the total loss of control of day to day gestures, are illustrated by the man’s inertia, trapped by the four walls imprisoning him in limited space. He understands his sanction and lifts his arms against the walls to try and abate their cruel approach. We understand then, that if each of us give, hope is born to fight the disease.
Philosophy
In order to create this film, we made a conscious decision to tint the film with a neutral color code, almost carceral, and almost medical in nature, in reference to the atmosphere of the hospital universe. We hoped this graphic aspect would reinforce for the spectator’s feeling of imprisonment as it is felt by victims of ALS.
Problem
: In our film, we also wished to somewhat subliminally refer to scenes of characters enclosed in coffins, in the manner Hitchcock or Tarantino, both of whom filmed scenes where the main character is enclosed in a box in the dark. We wouldn’t go that far because this was not the intention of the campaign, but we wished to deliberately create a stifling, anxiety-prone atmosphere, bringing the camera in closer and closer to the actor while the walls shut in.
Result
According to the World Health Organization, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is today the cruelest of the world’s rare diseases. Our campaign intends to make a strong impression in people’s minds so that victims of ALS do not remain in obscurity. Thanks to their tone and aesthetic, our advertisements seek to dissipate the taboos surrounding ASL, so that this disease is no longer considered “rare” but recognized as important and frequently occurring. Victims of ASL would be many more numerous if only they remained alive for longer. A victim of ASL has an average life expectancy of 3 years.