Audi head of brand, Henrik Wenders, decided to meet up with Michelin star chef Andreas Caminada at his castle Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau Switzerland. His idea was to share experience around leadership, talk about the future of their brands and find strategies to move the world forward in a balanced way.

So…. as the film team were all in position… 8 HMI lights perfectly balanced, the smoke level at just the right amount, 3 cinema cameras rolling and sound set: Henrik Wenders said: « We create experiences, » and with that, the stage was set for two exceptional creators to start an inspiring conversation.

Wenders is responsible for the Audi brand worldwide and is leading the premium car manufacturer from Ingolstadt, Germany, into an electrified and digitalized future. While in Fürstenau, Switzerland, Caminada took on the role of creating a world of upscale hospitality. Here, he leads the pack and challenges the status quo by doing something new all the time, everytime. For example: Andreas creates a new menu every six weeks. Wenders loving it.. : ‹why are you stressing yourself out like that?›. However intuitively he knows the answer to that question. It’s an inner drive, an obsession to keep on pushing. To keep things interesting and to challenge yourself every time. 

Funnily enough, that’s the one thing we at OTAKUS production understand very well. «It’s all about change – once you’ve discovered how appealing it is, you want it again and again. Even if it means constantly putting yourself under pressure and out of your comfort zone. Easy to write about it… another thing to actually do it. But we as a film crew were in the presence of do-ers and just listening to them wants you to go out there and create something beautiful. 

Audi knew the importance this interview had and needed to make sure it got executed in the perfect manner. Like Simon Kegler, head of Audi destination Switzerland said. “We need to bring in the big guns for this job.“

The setup was not so simple since we knew that the filming would probably take all day long, we had to ensure a constant lighting situation throughout the day. Strong backlight from a large window with constantly changing day light situations kept us on our toes. But it helped to give the room the needed depth and a feeling of space & place to help match our storyline. 

I have started to notice that the legendary RS6 6 cylinder Audi Avant, my dream car, is not selling so well anymore. People are starting to change their behaviour. Maybe feeling guilty about driving petrol cars and dining at a steakhouse. Maybe we are closer to a tipping point. As John C. Maxwell said so well. “People change when they hurt enough that they have to change, learn enough that they want to change, receive enough that they are able to change.”

Role models move the world through intelligent structured decision making. Audi and Caminada are changing the mindset by setting the new standard. Taking brave steps forward, changing and moving multiple generations. 

The biggest take away from this film shoot was that we don’t all have to now go out  and try to change the world. No… leaders like Wenders and Caminada, plant the dream in our hearts and before we know it we are picking up one more plastic bag; eating a little less meat and we too can make a positive impact on the planet. And tonight we lay our heads down… with a clear conscience knowing that we contributed something.   

CREDITS

Client: Audi AG


Story: Fabian Koch

Agency: Distilery


Production: Otakus GmbH


Talents: Andreas Caminada & Henrik Wenders

Executive Producer: OTAKUS

Line Producer: Axel Duarte

Camera A. Xaver Walser

Camera B. Sven Emmenegger

Camera C. Niklas Burn

Soundmix: Felix Sterzinger

Assistant editor: Peter Kaiser

Copywriting: Marko Ort

Camera Rental: Eberle Filmequipment Zürich


Light and Grip: FTK Zürich


Post Production: OTAKUS

Director: Xaver Walser