New Directors: Nico Kreis

For young German director Nico Kreis, joining the advertising industry was more than just a simple career choice – it was also a way of following in his father’s footsteps. “My dad ran an agency in the 80s and 90s,” says the 25-year-old. “He taught me that advertising can be more than just a way of earning money. It can also be an art and enhance people’s lives. That’s the kind of philosophy that I still carry with me today.”

While his father was an agency man, Kreis has forged his own path by going down the directing route. After working as a junior editor and photographer for a local newspaper, he studied filmmaking in Munich before signing up to the prestigious Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, where he’s currently in his final year. But rather than a piece of schoolwork, his spot featured here came to life as part of a client competition. The German Aviation Association, BDL, had approached the Filmakademie to ask for help creating a film, and out of around 20 submissions put forward it was Kreis’ idea that was chosen.

The spot opens on a classroom full of kids being lectured by a stern teacher on the hardships of life. As he drones on about the responsibilities and duties they’ll have to face, the children slowly age until the room is full of seniors – except for one kid who’s kept on dreaming. Titled Dreamers Stay Young, it’s an uplifting message that Kreis has captured in a unique way. Due to a BDL event deadline the film had to be planned, shot and edited in just four weeks, which was a lesson for the director in getting by on a tight timeframe.

“I had only 15 minutes for the close-ups and 30 minutes for wider shots of the classroom,” recalls the director. “The whole cast, except for the teacher, were beginners and I had 12 children who were around 10 years old. It was a challenging job for me but it helped me to learn how to get what I want in a very short time.”

Kreis isn’t the type of director to shy away from the business side of the industry either, and with business partner Philip Töpfer he’s launched an in-house production company at the Filmakademie called Milchstrasse: “I founded it with other students of the academy’s advertising department,” he explains. “We think that it is important to prove ourselves in the real business and not only under the wing of the academy. It’s a really good opportunity to learn how to make great commercials not only during our studies, but also in real life.”

Right now though Kreis is focussing on his final-year piece, a brand film for Ferrari, and with his real-world knowledge of the ad industry it looks like his transition from student to professional will be a smooth one.