Ash Bolland’s ‘Burn – Never Extinguish’ branded content film for Coca-Cola to feature in Australia’s ‘Top 100 Short Films’ at St Kilda Film Festival

Curious director Ash Bolland’s ‘Burn – Never Extinguish’ branded content film for Coca-Cola has been selected to screen at this year’s St Kilda Film Festival as part of its showcase of Australia’s top short films. 

The film also won a Clio for direction. 

The inclusion of Burn in the festival line up indicates how the film landscape has changed in recent years to now accept branded content.

Bolland directed Burn for Coca-Cola Europe and Publicis Milan last year in a global campaign for Burn energy drink. Shot in Buenos Aires, the film was written and directed by Bolland and features professional European skateboarders Rune Glifberg, Jonas Skroder, Hugo Maillard and Dany Hamard. 


“Having a film like Burn recognised by St Kilda Film Festival proves you can produce creative campaigns for a major brand like Coca-Cola without losing any credibility amongst film audiences,” says Curious executive producer Pete Grasse. “We worked hard to depict the story in an authentic way, so being selected as one of Australia’s Top 100 Short Films feels pretty good.”

In Burn, all the tricks are achieved in-camera – in fact, the only thing created in CGI is the tornado that sweeps into the film’s finale. Expertly produced by Tara Riddell at Curious Film in Sydney, Burn launched in October 2011.

As a commercial production company that has only started entering its directors’ work into film festivals over the past few years, Curious Film is making headway in this competitive field. This success, says Grasse, is evidently measured by its directors’ branded content being selected into categories normally reserved for traditional filmmaking.  

The inclusion of Burn indicates a part of this trend towards the acceptance of branded content, says St Kilda Film Festival director Paul Harris. “The viral campaigns which are now a part of our visual culture can’t pass muster to savvier audiences who are rightly suspicious about blatant product plugging but are open to new forms of visual storytelling,” he explains.

“Burn is a self-contained high-energy short film, which tells an exhilarating narrative conceived in a visually arresting, highly creative style,” he adds. “I liked its global reach with a New Zealand-born director, a trans-Tasman production company, an Italian co-partner and a group of professional European skateboarders gliding through the streets of Buenos Aires.”

It’s not only Curious’ branded content that is getting noticed; with director Zia Mandviwalla’s short film Night Shift recently selected at Cannes, in the Palme d’or short film category. Funded through the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), selection for Cannes in an incredible achievement for any filmmaker. “Zia’s film is utterly compelling and will be a strong contender for the main short film award,” says NZFC Short Film manager Lisa Chatfield.

“As a company, we have learnt something about the art of film making due to our involvement as film distributors,” says Grasse. Other achievements include: Tammy Davis named winner of 2012 Best Film at Bondi Flicker Fest; Stephen Kang listed as winner of Seamaine Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival 2011; along with three films in the official selection at the Sydney Film Festival as Distributors and the Peoples Choice Award at the Melbourne Film Festival in 2010.

The 2012 St Kilda Film Festival runs from 22nd – 27th May 2012, opening at the Palais Theatre with screenings at The Astor Theatre.  You can check out the program here.