In all our target markets, prescribed pharmaceuticals cannot be advertised to the general public. We worked with the client’s in-house legal and compliance teams to ensure the final product met all requirements.

Healthcare professionals: we wanted to show cancer specialists that, with Tasigna, treatment-free remission is possible for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. But, instead of showing them graphs and tables, we wanted to inspire them to change behaviour by hitting them with an emotional story told from an unexpected perspective.

"The Struggle Inside" follows a voice in distress; the inner monologue of someone suffering through their final moments. A man lies in bed, dreaming. As surreal dreamscapes and moments of his life flash by, the voice becomes increasingly distorted and resigned to its fate. In the final moments of his dream, the voice's true nature reveals itself - it's his cancer. His daughter bursts into his bedroom and, finally, there's joy. The voice is silenced.

This film was created to promote a pharmaceutical drug. It’s branded, which means it can only be seen by healthcare professionals. It can’t be viewed publicly. Tasigna is a pill that can stop cancer cells from growing and spreading. It specifically treats chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Studies have proven that Tasigna can switch CML off in some patients, which means they can eventually live without needing treatment. To tell this story, our client planned to run medical meetings for doctors in several markets. This film was created to open those meetings. It’s also being shown to doctors by sales representatives during face-to-face sales calls.

Post-production enhancements and retouching was minimal. Like the story, the camerawork is raw and authentic – we wanted the final edit to reflect this. Scenes were filmed in colour and black & white to distinguish between the protagonist’s real world (colour) and his dreams (B&W). The subject and framing of certain colour and B&W scenes were matched to indicate the switch from real to dream. Quick cuts and abstract external shots give the illusion the protagonists life is ending. The cast feature a real father and daughter. Real photographs of them are used in the edit of the film to give the impression the patient’s past life is flashing by him.

Until near the end, the viewer must believe the voice is that of the cancer. But they should also sense something is up. The director was central to making this work. His visceral, surreal artistic vision enhanced our original story. His super close-up camerawork and direction, particularly for the final sequence, aims to draw the viewer in. Black & white dreamscapes added another layer of uncertainty to the film, while adding real photos of the father and daughter helped authenticity. Authenticity and believability were crucial and the director was key to driving the performances during both the visual and audio stories.