BBDO Chicago contacted us in 2023 to commission Certified Care, a production in Rwanda for SC Johnson. The piece would follow three different women on their journey to receive certification for the vital medical support they provide at grassroots levels to their communities. Shot over a week across Rwanda, Certified Care went on to win a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze at Cannes 23.
Scholars director Colwyn Thomas outlines the biggest factors in making the film a success.
"First, we did the research, interviewing women across Rwanda to find three who had compelling stories and who presented well on camera. That was a tough balance to strike and the debate between the head creatives about who would be best for the piece was intensive.
Secondly, we applied what is becoming the Scholars speciality: a carefully balanced mixture of raw documentary content with carefully crafted cinematic scenes. The most important element here is having a small, elite crew that’s both incredibly good at what they do and a little versatile. You can’t go deep into communities in rural Rwanda with a large convoy of cars and then expect people to act naturally.
Lastly, after years of doing this, we know how to roll with the punches and went to counter punch. Shooting in rural Africa means you need to know when to give up (like when we spent hours getting all set for a critical group shot only for a storm to destroy the set) and when to tenaciously persist, even at great expense. One of our key characters lived in a village, nearly three hours of rough driving away from the nearest accommodation for the crew. But she was such a perfect character that we insisted on driving there and back, three days in a row, to get the shots we needed."