Press release from The Solid State
What do you do if you need $14 million dollars to make a film? Producer Emile Sherman and Director Tony Krawitz made their first step toward selling their latest screenplay by commissioning Walter Bienz and Danny Lachevre at The Solid State to create a pre-sales buzz.
The Solid State is a highly awarded boutique agency known for its scintillating pre-sale trailers and jaw dropping marketing collateral. With three Golden Trailer Awards under their belt, the team at The Solid State are masters of the two-minute format. They are known for distilling a director’s vision down to its absolute essence and for communicating the weight of a script in less than five minutes. Their ultra-competitive offering, regularly seen at sales conferences in Cannes, Berlin, MIP and AFN, has a reputation for getting projects noticed.
In the case of Dead Europe, The Solid State worked closely with the producers at See-Saw Films to create a tactile piece of pre-sales collateral that could quickly convey the power of the film’s narrative. Dead Europe (p: Emile Sherman, Iain Canning d: Tony Krawitz) is an adaptation by award-winning screenwriter Louise Fox, of a Christos Tsiolkas novel of the same name.
The film tells the story of Isaac, the Australian-born son of Greek immigrants, who is travelling across Europe. At first he embarks on an orgy of sex, alcohol and self-pity, but after a visit to his mother's ancestral village and the discovery his family is cursed, his character begins a gradual descent into madness. The Solid Sate decided to tell this sensuous and visceral journey through a textured photographic essay, producing the character’s diary in a hand-made, string bound A6 format. The resulting collateral, taken to sales agents by See-Saw Films in December 2010, was a success. See-Saw Films managed to secure $8 million dollars from Screen Australia, with the project slated to enter pre-production in the first half of 2011.
“We had the pleasure of working with the filmmakers to develop a pre-sales Visual Diary to help them source funding. It documents the main characters trip from Melbourne across Europe to Budapest,” says Walter Bienz co-director of The Solid State.
“We were thrilled when Emile and Tony told us they finally had what they needed to make this film. We decided on the diary because we felt it was the best way to convey the drama of the script and the journey of Isaac. It was also something a bit different. It was a new way to speak to an incredibly discerning and visually savvy audience,” says Danny Lachevre, co-director of The Solid State. [insert quote about story telling by Emile Sherman/Tony Krawitz}
The Solid State who specialise in the development of trailers, pre-sales trailers, print marketing collateral and web design, have worked on some of the world’s most successful independent films. Recent projects include Tomorrow When the War Began; Wasted on the Young; Beneath Hill 60; The Loved Ones and the acclaimed trailer for Balibo (Winner of the Best International trailer at the Golden Trailer awards 2010). Prior to forming The Solid State in 2007 both Danny and Walter worked with a slew of big name filmmakers including: Philip Noyce [Rabbit Proof Fence], Alex Proyas [I,Robot], Wim Wenders [Buena Vista Social Club], Jane Scott [Shine, Love’s Brother], and John Maynard [Romulus, My Father]
BACKGROUND: The Solid State
Formed in 2007 by the collaboration of two Creative Directors: Danny Lachevre and Walter Bienz, The Solid State has gained a reputation for producing highly inspired and heart-felt work. With more than a decade’s experience in film marketing, design and direction, The Solid State is a specialist agency assisting filmmakers and distributors reach their audience.
The Solid State collaborates with filmmakers, distributors and networks to conceive, promote and deliver bold creative. Their work is detailed and deeply nuanced, commonly possessing a nerve that makes it connect to an audience emotionally. Simply put, The Solid State team love telling stories.
The impetus behind The Solid State came from the duo’s shared vision of a company where the ideas and the creative potential of staff came first. Today their studio of eight staff, produce a range of marketing collateral across film, TV, web and print. The company’s two directors oversee all production, and increasingly develop over-arching strategies to help new films achieve market-cut through.
Their distinctive offering, that places them squarely between an advertising agency and production house, has been forged over the past four years. Today The Solid State’s list of services is the result of changing technology and growing client demand for an end-to-end agency capable of creating content for all marketing touch points. As the use of new platforms has grown to become a part of the film campaign work – so too has the offering at The Solid State.
The unique transition The Solid State has made from film editors to film marketing consultants is what differentiates them as an agency. Their detailed and artistic approach to each and every film-marketing platform has won them a reputation for story telling and for getting new projects to stand out head and shoulders above the rest.
Recent projects include Tomorrow When the War Began; Wasted on the Young; Beneath Hill 60; The Loved Ones, and the acclaimed trailer for Balibo (Winner of the Best International trailer at the Golden Trailer awards 2010). The Solid State have also developed a pre-sales poster, trailer and website for Divine Shadows (d: Husein Alicajic p: Daria Jovicic) and the trailer and website for 2010 Australian feature film Lou.
Prior to starting The Solid State, Danny and Walter worked alongside filmmakers including Alex Proyas [I,Robot], Wim Wenders [Buena Vista Social Club], Jane Scott [Shine, Love’s Brother], John Maynard [Romulus, My Father] and David Adams [White Lions].
The Solid State Awards include:
GOLDEN TRAILER AWARDS
Balibo Trailer – Winner
Divine Shadows Trailer – Winner
9.99 Poster – Winner
Slipstream Poster – Nominee
Sydney Film Festival Campaign – Nominee
Nightmare Detective Trailer – Nominee
Dog Bite Dog Trailer – Nominee
Black Sheep TVC – Nominee
PROMAX
My Playtime TVC – Gold