New Zealand promotes the power of unity

They’ve become tropes of the day, those panning shots of empty streets, stadiums, cafes and schools. 

Yet this film from the New Zealand Government – remarkably created by Clemenger BBDO and produced by Finch with less than a week from script to broadcast – is elevated by a commentary that states: “our rituals, our togetherness, our normality, our lives”, these are not to be considered as what have lost through lockdown, or what we are giving up, but things that we are saving. “To lose could only take one of us, to win it will take all of us.”

Titled For Tomorrow, the film was directed by Zia Mandviwalla, who together with EP Rebekah Kelly, put together a nimble team spread across the country that could work remotely, with all location and production prep and post done by individuals from home. The on-set crews were comprised of the strictest minimum numbers, operating in compliance with social distancing. They also live-streamed shoots wherever possible, so that director and agency could watch shots as they happened and provide real-time feedback, ensuring the creative was the best it could be. 

Finch’s Kelly says, “This was a great case study of how our industry can continue to adapt to the changing world we find ourselves in. Our crew was amazing, and from the Hokianga to the deep South, came on board with much interest for a new way of working”. 

Mandviwalla added “The aim of the piece is to encourage New Zealanders to stay the course in lockdown. Though these places and spaces are empty right now, they are imbued with our humanity and are still there, waiting for our return.” 

Appropriately for a film entreating all Kiwis to come together, the commentary ends with the words 'kia manawanui', a Maori phrase meaning ‘stay steadfast’.