Director's Works
Thomas de Pourquery, The Rhythm Changed Ludovic Gontrand
Based in Paris, Hamlet director Ludovic Gontrand transitioned from his role as an agency creative at Sid Lee Paris to pursue a career in film directing approximately three and a half years ago. He seamlessly navigates between commercial projects, music videos, and documentary filmmaking. Known for his dedication to strong visual identities, Ludovic brings meticulous attention to detail and thoughtful craftsmanship to every project he undertakes.
Four walls, twenty-five strangers, zero script. A good part of the production budget was spent on casting, searching far and wide for people with captivating raw personalities, from dancers to philosophers. We wanted genuine individuals whose emotions you could feel and who would draw you in. People you’d want to sit with and talk to. Most of the scenes were completely unscripted, I wanted to get as close as possible to reality and improvisation. At some moments I’d give them simple collective instructions such as: everybody falls asleep… Or to mimic one person… a bit like directing a live spectacle, keeping the performance alive and in tune with the variations in Thomas' music. Our goal was to create a 10-hour-long playground for those 25 wonderful people to be free and embrace the experiment. We used two hidden cameras, constantly rolling, sometimes handheld to get close to the actions and emotions. We had a very restricted crew and minimal technical efforts, aiming for a documentary approach as much as possible. To me, I hope, the video is perceived like if it was written, shot, and edited by a child. Very candid and raw.