#SAFilmReel August 2017: Ahmed Tilly commends Peter Pohorsky for '21st Birthday Speech'

5 Sep 2017

IDidTht's August SA Film Reel was judged by Ahmed Tilly, CCO at FCB Joburg, who selected News24 Edge ‘21st Birthday Speech' directed by Peter Pohorsky at Plank Films for Best of Reel for Direction and Writing Craft.

You know that a piece of film is really good when you can’t imagine it made any other way. This is the case for Tilly, who believes Peter Pohorsky achieves this on two spots for News24 Edge. "I’ve chosen the '21st Birthday Speech' as my Best of Reel because well… I was asked to choose only one. But the other one in the campaign, called 'Recital', is just as schweet!

Commending Pohorsky for his work on these ads, Tilly acknowledges that "a great director puts an inordinate amount of work into creating something that looks effortless and simple. Pohorsky directs, art directs, casts, edits and grades the shit out of this piece. The result is a light-hearted ad that is so enjoyable to watch and still interesting enough to seek out details in the ad. Whether it’s the gentle move down from the ceiling to reveal the character who delivers a very believable performance, the birthday boy with the wicked 80’s hairstyle and matching moustache, the way the shattered light from the disco ball washes over the scene or the 'journalistic' voice delivery at the end, there’s so much to appreciate. He also predicted that the viewer would want to see more of the birthday boy and delivers by returning to a well-timed shot of the quirky character.

"Well done Peter Pohorsky for making this ad so damn watchable! And to the writers who practiced restraint in order to deliver a simple yet entertaining message, well done.”

Special mentions for the month also went to:

Nike Campaign by Lebogang Rasethaba at Egg Films – Direction Craft
Nedbank CIB's ‘Bird’s Eye View’ directed by Kim Geldenhuys at 0307 Films – Direction Craft

For more information, visit iDidTht.com.