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Photos: courtesy Collateral Films
Collateral Films is an Italian creative production company that has recently opened its doors here in Vancouver. Best known for its collaborations with fashion houses such as Armani, Gucci and Etro, Collateral Films is seeking to bring their brand of unique and artistic storytelling to the North American market. The company is making their Canadian debut by joining forces with Gastown’s luxury concept store and restaurant, Secret Location.
I spoke with Canadian Executive Director of Collateral Films, Roberta Gigi, to learn more about the company, its influences and collaborations.
Valerie Tiu: Collateral Films recently opened its North American office here. Why Vancouver?
Roberta Gigi: It is not an easy question and there are different reasons. We chose Vancouver because it is a fast-growing city and because it is a key crossroads of the Pacific Northwest area. Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco are vibrant and challenging cities. At the same time, Collateral Films considers Vancouver to be sort of a bridge toward Asia.
Vancouver is also less influenced by Europe compared to Toronto and Montreal. On one hand, we wanted to bring a bit of our roots here and be challenged by a much more complex set of influences.
VT: How did your first collaboration with Secret Location come into fruition?
RG: We met the owner of Secret Location in Milano, Italy. We were chosen for the production and the entire video campaign in virtue of our approach and creative vision. Of course our portfolio constituted by high-end fashion brands such as Gucci and Armani tickled Secret Location's fantasy. We could interpret the concept store from a different and unique perspective.
VT: What was the inspiration behind the Secret Location campaign videos?
RG: Secret Location needed to tell a story where food and fashion are deeply entangled. At the same time, the final outcome should be not too serious, kind of amusing, without forgetting that it is a trendy location.
Anton Lucarelli, the director, interviewed and recorded the voice of the owner and founder for two hours. The story, the emotions and ideas behind Secret Location had been fundamental. We tried to reproduce the inner imaginary and the cultural background.
VT: From a creative standpoint, how does being in Vancouver differ from your past experiences in Italy?
RG: Milano in particular and Europe in general is getting almost saturated from the perspective of creative industries, while Vancouver is in full growth and expansion now. Here Collateral Films perceives more chances to experiment and explore creative ideas. We take input and inspiration in the place where we settle our productions. I wouldn't say that we think local; we rather find the best way to tailor a global inspiration to a local context. We live in a globalized world where input comes from your street or neighborhood and, contemporaneously, to different countries and places and online realities.
VT: Do you have plans to connect with the local community? Do you have a "dream list" of potential local clients?
RG: Our main aim is to find the best way to bring our historical background in fashion and lifestyle to some economical sectors that have similarities. One example is the Real Estate market. We are just launching a specific marketing tool specifically developed for the Real Estate. It is a peculiar and high-quality integration of emotions and technical aspects. Of course arts and fashion are our core sectors, therefore we hope that we'll be able to carry on these kind of great projects.
You asked about a “dream list,” so we can dare to say that when we knew that Herzog & De Meuron would be working on a new project for the Vancouver Art Gallery, we thought about it as a dream project. Having worked for a world-known artist such as Marina Abramovic got us thinking that we could be a good partner for the Swiss studio. Our dream list is made of good clients that we could share our vision with in the future.
VT: How do you envision the future of Collateral Films in the North American market?
RG: A lesson that we learnt in these first months is that the division between West and East is very relevant. So our first attempt is to penetrate the Pacific Northwest. And then, who knows if China is closer than Toronto....
Check out the video collaborations with Collateral Films and Secret Location here:
http://vimeo.com/96061700
http://vimeo.com/95949167
