What if the future President of Russia is serving a life sentence?
Hundreds of prisoners of conscience are currently incarcerated in Russian prisons, punished by the regime for publicly expressing their own opinions. Václav Havel and Nelson Mandela also found themselves in this situation in the past. Back then, pressure from the international public played a huge role in demanding their freedom. Thankfully, they were released and went on to become presidents.
The Future President reconstructs the predicament of Václav Havel and Nelson Mandela when they were prisoners.
“The Future President reconstructs the predicament of Václav Havel and Nelson Mandela when they were prisoners. Unfortunately, authentic pictures from their real cells were never made available, which is why we had to create them in a way that seemed as accurate as possible. We combined their faces with photographed prison interiors and the figures of our extras. Ultimately, everything had to undergo demanding post-production. We are so happy that the campaign was a success in Cannes, where the visual with Mandela was shortlisted in the category Print & Publishing,” explained concept creators Petr Čech and Jakub Kolářík.
We are, in fact, providing a reminder of what history has already taught us. Supporting one prisoner by signing a petition for their release could help democratize an entire country.