After years of war, peace has returned to Brazzaville and with it has re-emerged a group of extraordinary men: the Sapeurs, the Society of Elegant Persons of the Congo. They are working class everymen: taxi drivers, factory workers, cane cutters. However, they refuse to let their circumstances define them. Instead, they wear incredible suits and live by a simple philosophy: to defy circumstance and live with Joie de Vivre.
Filming the real Sapeurs, the ad celebrates these men who are “made of more”. While their incredible suits provide a rich visual tapestry, they merely reveal the strength of their character, and it is these inner qualities that prove a universal truth: all of us have a choice in life, we can let circumstance define us, or we can defy it.
These beacons of the human spirit remind us that we can always choose who we are.
Creative Execution
Congo-Brazzaville is a war torn country emerging from a decades long civil war, so when the production requires “street casting in the Congo” you know it’s a challenge. Especially when experts warned we should be in and out in 48 hours.
But we wanted to be authentic and use real Sapuers
We sent a guerilla crew to live with the Sapeurs. After street casting, we shot our documentary, under the radar, with real Sapeurs on the streets of Brazzaville.
But we couldn’t shoot the TV spot there as it is technically a designated war zone. Overcoming the bureaucracy of international visas, and obtaining passports for our Sapeurs, we flew them to Durban. It not only matched Brazzaville’s unique landscape but also has the largest Congolese community.
limited budget, we weren’t able to shoot in far-flung locations, but with great camera work, and creative locations, we were able to film everything within a 10km radius. In another challenge we set fire to a field for a one take shot precisely five minutes to sunset.
All of this had to be done in a five day shoot, using French Congolese translators, working with non-actors, who had never left Brazzaville, never been on a film set, and never had to repeat choreographed moves over and over – all with just two hand-held red cameras.
Everything took place in townships, which threw up two hijackings at gun point, strange location “negotiations”, scorpions, and AK47 toting security guards, making it a production made of more.