Corra Films Collaborate With Mercedes-Benz USA In New Campaign ‘We Play To Win’

World-renowned filmmaker Henry Corra, best known for his unique brand of non-fiction known as "living cinema," has led his creative team at Corra Films to orchestrate an incredibly motivational, branded content campaign for Mercedes-Benz USA, entitled "We Play to Win." For the global automaker, Corra and his production team traveled the country to interview some of the greatest visionaries and leaders of our time about the key to their success. Featuring interviews with a diversity of experts including MBUSA’s new President & CEO Dietmar Exler, University of Alabama Football’s Nick Saban, Emory University Dean Erika James, and Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, the extensive series of 13 short films are being unveiled online monthly, designed to motivate the Mercedes-Benz USA team to be the best they can be.

"The campaign exhibits a great openness and curiosity on the part of the world’s greatest carmaker," says Corra. "It’s been a dream collaboration between brand, agency and filmmaker with a trust and fluidity like no other I’ve experienced and it shows in the work I think."

Corra and the Corra Films team have been collaborating with Mercedes and ad agency Merkley + Partners for almost a decade on a wide range of projects, including 2009’s iconic campaign "Impact". At the completion of the latest "We Play To Win" project, then Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon said: "Corra’s work is the emotional crescendo of our brand."

"We were so thrilled to hear that from our client at Mercedes, since we really hold them up as one of the highest achieving brands in the world, always reaching for the best in terms of quality and results," notes Corra. "This relationship and collaboration with Mercedes is so exciting. They pretty much invite us into a myriad of projects and it’s like an ongoing journey that tells different aspects of the big Mercedes story – just like our non-fiction feature films."

"With ‘We Play to Win,’ we started with a strong sense of the character, story and takeaway message," continues Corra. "The idea was to create a stage where these amazingly successful and wise individuals revealed themselves in ways we never could have predicted in a script. They invited us into their thought process and what it means to ‘Play to Win.’ Whether we were speaking with a Fortune 500 CEO or a world-class athlete, we were seeking personal performances. Along the way, we also paid attention to dynamic, interstitial imagery that created a film language unique to each person’s character and story. All of this allowed us to build up an incredible library of material for the Corra Film’s postproduction team – where it all comes together -- and are trained in the very specific art of nonfiction, unscripted editing. Artfully layered, with tremendous attention to color, sound design, score and above all character and emotion, these films will stick with audiences and resonate over time."

Currently, Director Henry Corra and the Corra Films production team are also working on branded content, advocacy, and advertising projects for a variety of clients including American Cancer Society, NYC Department of Health, Safeway, Starbucks, Delta, and Jet Blue. The company continuously balances its talents between commercials, advocacy and non-fiction feature film projects.

"The future of advertising is not just in commercials. Telling a brands story and how they can make the world a better place is key in our time," points out Corra.

"We approach every single project with the same intent and rigor that we would a potential feature film," Head of Production Annmarie Pisano explains. "Some of our projects like ‘Unlocked’ have actually spun out from shorts into features because of this. And, I believe the results show."

In the documentary feature film realm, Henry Corra is a renowned, award-winning filmmaker with his work being exhibited worldwide on broadcast networks, streaming outlets, theaters and is on permanent collection at esteemed institutions including MOMA, The Smithsonian, The Louvre and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The tapestry includes: "Umbrellas" for PBS & Arte, "George" for HBO; "Same Sex America" for Showtime, "The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan" for Netflix; NY77 for VH1, and "Farewell to Hollywood" (theatrical).

Corra is currently working on two new film projects. The first documentary is with none other than the Dalai Lama. While filming his Holiness last year, the Dalai Lama invited Corra and his team to embark on a new film project, which will detail his visions. "All my life, I’ve had visions that I can’t put into words. You could help me express these visions to the world before I die," said His Holiness to Corra.

"We were so incredibly honored," enthuses Corra. "It’s kind of audacious when you think about it – a film by Henry Corra and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet! It’s a one-of-a-kind film and a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration opportunity. Now we just have to do it justice."

The second film in the works is entitled "Unlocked," in which Corra and his team venture to make "deep connections with a group of non-verbal autistic teenagers who have recently learned to communicate for the first time in their lives through typing, which has literally unlocked their voices for the first time. It’s a coming of age story like no other," concludes Corra.

"We are not afraid of reality – in fact, we embrace it," sums up Corra Films’ Annmarie Pisano. "It’s a rigorous, yet joyously collaborative process where we actively create a protected space wherein Henry, our team, and our subjects are able to make profound and meaningful connections. Through this process, we capture what is essential about our characters."

"Telling other people’s stories is a responsibility, so we don’t stop until we get it just right," adds Henry Corra. "We work as a team that works as one. Like musicians or dancers, our studio is based on the ensemble and the virtuosity of each player. Real life storytelling is a transformative process. We immerse ourselves. And that directness of experience is passed onto the audience. And that’s why we never fake it. We only work with real people and real stories. Inclusivity underpins everything we do. We know that transparency and openness is reciprocal, and that trust is earned. We don’t see boundaries between screen type, platform or industry; a commercial can evolve into a series or feature, a feature into a transmedia experience. Our immersion in the story allows us to work fluidly across mediums and create the previously unimagined from the same story world."

On his filmmaking process, Corra elaborates: "Although my films have shown around the world and received much critical praise, reviewers and festival programmers have often found them difficult to classify in the context of established genres," he concludes. "If they share a common theme, it is my intention to explore the possibilities of documentary as a subjective and personal art form. Rather than consider myself a dispassionate observer, I have looked for ways to foreground the connection between my subjects and myself and create a relationship that grows more complex and nuanced as the film unfolds. In exchange for letting me into their lives, I demonstrate that my presence affects their stories. I am not above the fray. We – the filmmaker, the subjects, and by extension, the audience – are in it together."