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Lewis Hamilton

The Power of a Gesture

  • Art Direction
  • Campaign
  • Film

Commissioned by GQ Magazine ahead of MOTY Awards 2020, the film explores how a singular gesture, expressed under conditions of extreme pressure, can yield significant power and world changing impact.

To take a knee has become a globally adopted gesture of activism and solidarity. An action of strength, defiance and courage. Connecting back to this moment in time, under the eye of millions, Hamilton takes the knee at the Austrian Grand Prix – an act of forthright intent.

Directed by Tom Hingston, this short film tells the story of that gesture through the eyes of racing’s most celebrated and impassioned driver, highlighting not only the immediate triggers for his actions, but also, the deep rooted personal significance. We highlight the influence of that intensely personal decision, felt not just throughout his sport – but the rippling effect it created across the wider media. This is about the voice of an individual joining the chorus of change. Subverting the negative and using our simple tools of human spirit, to strive towards something better, something that will crystallise a better place for future generations.

Credits

Director: Tom Hingston
Starring: Lewis Hamilton
Executive Producers: Dylan Jones and Martin Roker
Associate Executive Producer: Stuart McGurk
Producers: Manoela Chiabai and Mateo Notsuke
GQ Creative Director: Paul Solomans
Production Company: Black Dog Films
Interviewer: Misan Harriman
DoP: Edgar Dubrovskiy
Focus Puller: James Harrison
Loader: Will Murray Brown
Gaffer: Dominik Palgan
Spark: George Kalmierakis
Sound Recordist: Gerard Abeille
Stylist: Elgar Johnson
Styling Assistant: Angelo Mitakos
Tailor: Amelia Cullen
Groomer: Yuko Fredriksson
Hair: Kerry-Ann Christopher
Barber: Ainsworth Ramsay

Editor: Owen Oppenheimer at The Quarry
Assistant Editors: Jack Moore and Victoria Mann
Post: Jenn Saunders
VFX: Hingston Studio
Colour: Black Kite Studios
Colour Grading: Richard Fearon
Colour Producer: Polly Durrance

Score: Nicholas Phillips
Sound Design: Luke Gentry
Sound Mixer: Liam Conwell

Production Manager: Juliana Tuacek
Production Assistants: Harry Morgan, Rita Waczkowska and Kieran Brett

Legal Affairs: Florence Edwards and George Chesterton
Clearance Supervisor: Cara Harding