AUDI / AUTONOMY
From a Car and Driver cover story to a feature documentary built to be a source of truth on self-driving cars for drivers, regulators and the public.
A Car and Driver film with Malcolm Gladwell, directed by Alex Horwitz and backed by Audi. World premiere at SXSW 2019. Official selection at AFI DOCS and nine other festivals in the U.S., Norway and Singapore.
AUTONOMY began as a Car and Driver cover story on self-driving cars, guest-edited by Malcolm Gladwell. A subject this big needed a format that could show both what the technology could make possible and what could go wrong, and that felt as consequential as the technology itself. Self-driving technology is one of the auto industry's biggest technical and regulatory questions, and most of what drivers, regulators and the public hear about it is either promotion or alarm.
Our team saw the chance to turn the cover story into a feature-length documentary that all three audiences could watch and trust. I led the project from concept through production, working with Audi as the film's backer, director Alex Horwitz and the editors of Car and Driver, who kept editorial control.
The film follows Gladwell as he works through the history of driverless technology, what it promises, where the risks are and what it will change for people on the road. Because it was independent and reported by Car and Driver's editors, it could serve as a credible resource in public affairs conversations, not as an ad for Audi.
That credibility opened doors that branded content usually can't. AUTONOMY had its world premiere at SXSW in 2019, was an official selection at AFI DOCS in Washington, D.C., and screened at nine more festivals, from Mill Valley and St. Louis to Bergen and Singapore. We then sold the film through WME/Endeavor to Gravitas Ventures, which acquired the U.S. rights and released it on demand.
The project came out of the blend line, the in-house creative agency at Hearst Autos, which I co-led with Craig Daitch.
Film: AUTONOMY, a Car and Driver film
Backed by: Audi
Employer: Hearst Autos
Position: Executive Creative Director and Co-Lead, the blend line
Project role: Concept, business development, creative strategy, executive production
Collaborators: Malcolm Gladwell, Alex Horwitz, Car and Driver
Sales agent: WME/Endeavor
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures (U.S., on demand)
World premiere: SXSW Film Festival, 2019
Official selections: AFI DOCS, Bergen International Film Festival, Cinetopia, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, A Design Film Festival Singapore, St. Louis International Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Virginia Film Festival
Disciplines: Branded entertainment, documentary film, public affairs, creative strategy, editorial storytelling
