Alex Grossman Wins 8 Statues at London Int'l Awards

Alex Grossman's "Pitching French Films to Hollywood" has collected eight statues at the 2017 London International Awards.
Created for Alliance Francaise via Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore the campaign scored five Gold, two Silver and one Bronze awards at the show, as chosen by a diverse global jury after judging took place over a 10-day period at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.
The LIA statues add to three Gold Lions and two Silver Lions won at the 64th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity making Grossman the most awarded comedy director at on the French Riviera this year.

"Pitching French Films to Hollywood" features a faux French filmmaker (played to perfection by Carlo F. Corbellini) pitching films to Hollywood producers. What these producers don't realize, however, is that each film is already a French masterpiece.

The Parisian filmmaker extolls the virtues of producing sensual films with warmth and emotion, subtly pitching the storylines of "Amour," "The Class" and "Blue is the Warmest Color."

The producers, however, squirm at the idea of creating erotic cinema with emotional resonance, a far cry from their Hollywood mindsets. "What's at stake?" asks one. "Who's the villain?" quips the next. "Are you making a porno movie?" opines another.

The campaign screened in movie theaters featuring Hollywood blockbusters, each wrapping with the apt tagline, "Showing the Films Hollywood Won't."

The wry work also aired across social channels, while scripts of other iconic French cinema were also sent to Hollywood script consultancies as part of the campaign.

When they didn't see any potential in the writing their reports were used in print ads, PR content and social posts to further promote French film, while articles in The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, The Independent, and The Times also made French cinema a trending topic to a new, global audience.

"There was so much potential in the idea and seeing if French cinema could possibly get made in Hollywood," says Grossman on helming the work. "We only had one chance with each producer so covered each pitch with three cameras rolling. French cinema is such a unique experience, and the fact that these classic tales fell on dead ears emphasized how unique these French films are."

Grossman is recognized for directing work with a comedic lean for clients including Nike, Gatorade and Nissan. Grossman commenced his career as a creative at Butler, Shine and Stern, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and BBDO before he became a director.