Agency: Jung von Matt
Client: BMW
Country: Germany
Jung Von Matt condensed a large story and heavy subject matter down into a highly watchable format for BMW’s The Small Escape - which tells the story of a driver trying to smuggle someone over the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing in a BMW Isetta.
It became apparent early on that cutting the film in a linear way would be boring to watch, so Jung Von Matt opted instead for a non-linear spot, in the style of a heist movie.
1964. Berlin is a divided city. Flight from the German Democratic Republic is punished with an order to fire. Still, many people desperately try to cross the border. For all backgrounds to the true history of the spectacular escape, read the article here: https://b.mw/isetta_escape_story
People forge identity papers, dig tunnels, climb into hot-air balloons and hide in cars going to the West - towards freedom. But as large vehicles are getting controlled more frequently and thoroughly, a West Berliner has a seemingly impossible but ingenious idea: the smallest and most inconspicuous car available at the time, the BMW Isetta, should help him smuggle a man across the border into the West.
