Insight: 'While athletes were running for gold, thousands of locals were running for their lives'.

Prior to and during the 2016 Olympics, Amnesty’s film confronted people with ‘the other side of the medal’.

In the beginning, the viewer believes to be watching the start of an Olympic 100-meter sprint. Close-up shots of athletic limbs dressed in sporting clothes are misleading him or her.

But, as the film progresses, various details seem to be off: shoes that are worn out, stained clothes, the eyes of the runners filled with fear. Zooming out, we discover that they’re not running for glory, but for their lives.

Amnesty provided us with the stories of mostly young black men that have lost their lives due to excessive police violence, prior to and during the 2016 Games. We created a metaphorical film that bears a strong resemblance to the Olympic 100-meter sprint.

*Because we were working for a non-profit organization with a very limited budget, we had one shooting day, that consisted of 13 hours.

The campaign was extremely visible. By putting the spotlight on excessive police violence in Rio, Amnesty started an international conversation. The discussion was picked up by major news outlets such as Al Jazeera, The Guardian and The Huffington Post. Moreover, different media organizations moved by the film broadcasted it for free online and in cinemas.

Amnesty received over 31.000 signed petitions, more than 400.000 euros worth of free publicity were earned and close to 30 million people were reached worldwide.

All in one week.

To show ‘the other side of the medal’ we used the true story of Matheus Silva (an alias created on the request of the family). He was a young man running for his life, and was shot and killed by military police. Unfortunately, he’s just one of many young black men that were killed prior to and during the 2016 Games. This makes him a symbol for the many that have lost their lives due to this brutal force.

Through a smart composition of the film, we confronted two parallel but very different realities coexisting in the city. This resulted in an impactful and surprising ending that gave the film its spreading potential. By shining a light on the situation and reaching millions of people with our film, we got one step closer to Amnesty International’s mission: creating a world respectful of human rights.

The brief was initiated to create awareness around human rights violations prior to and during the 2016 Olympic Games and, additionally, gather as many signed petitions as possible.

When the Games were awarded, Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian government and the Olympic committee promised a safer city. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the time of the campaign, 2.480 people had already been killed due to excessive police violence since the Games were awarded.