HALAL Signs Director Thessa Meijer

Today HALAL announces the signing of award-winning director Thessa Meijer to its global roster of commercial directors. Most recently, Thessa was awarded the Grand Prix at the esteemed Ciclope awards for her short film ‘the Walking Fish’ - which was her first production with HALAL. The fantastical tale has vowed multiple juries worldwide (Special Jury Prize and Gold Screen in Cannes at the Young Directors Awards (YDA) and a Gold Medal at the 1.4 awards to mention a few), in addition to being the 2020 Oscars submission for the Netherlands in the Short Film category.

The news that the rising-star is officially joining HALAL's commercial roster is marked with the release of their first campaign – in collaboration with Amsterdam-based eyewear brand Ace & Tate. In an inspirational series, the brand introduces its new mantra 'Take Another Look', setting the tone for the brand moving forward. To bring the new mantra and its meaning to life, Ace & Tate joined forces with HALAL, along with Thessa Meijer, who wrote and directed the short film, and photographer Nick van Tiem who shot the images for the campaign.

Known for a dream-like aesthetic and humorous undertones, Thessa translated the brand’s message, Take Another Look, by creating light-hearted, beautifully striking visuals that play with the viewers’ perception.

Thessa Meijer, director, HALAL, comments: “We wanted every aspect of the campaign: from the visual landscape, to the sound design, to the relation between the characters and their environment — to act as catalysts for viewers to see things differently. I took a lot of inspiration from the shapes of the glasses themselves: square, round and so forth — and referenced them throughout the film in different ways.”