In the opening shot of Karim Huu Do’s “RIMOWA” commercial, Roger Federer ruminates upon the difficulties of leaving home to reach the heights that he has.
Huu Do’s commercial doesn’t feel like anything else one sees on television. With an emotional voiceover dialogue, shots of Federer and of travel, it packs a punch in just one minute.
“When I was growing up…I was OK with movies being just for entertainment,” Huu Do tells ScreenComment. “As I got older I found that even the most entertaining movies, like E.T., have a message. In commercial work there is a thin line, between what you do and the message you convey.”
Karim Huu Do has worked with Adidas, Sprite, and more
Federer’s RIMOWA commercial is far form Huu Do’s first big break. Previously, the director and filmmaker has filmed a global campaign for Adidas featuring Pharrell, Rita Ora, David Beckham, and Damian Lilliard. He also shot a short film for Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” album. Other collaborations include the Last Night in Paris music collective and The Shoes.
Huu Do’s work has won him multiple awards, including the Clio, D&AD, Epica and UKMVA awards. Although his father wanted him to be a doctor, Huu Do chose to study visual communication in college. He co-founded the “Fortune” art collective where he started out with film and photography projects. Since then, he has gone from short-form projects to also starting work on a full-length film, the details of which are yet unknown.
Karim Huu Do’s diverse heritage inspires how he sees the world
“I watched movies a lot, it was the only way my father could have some time for himself,” Huu Do tells ScreenComment. “He’d sent me to the video store, told me I could rent anything.” He cites these experiences, as well as European cineclubs and the movies he saw with his family, as inspiration for his current work.
“I have this Westernized mind, and at the same time, I have roots that are not coming from here,” Huu Do explains in an interview, “All this stuff mixed together creates something interesting.”
Huu Do grew up in Switzerland with a Moroccan mother and a Vietnamese father. This upbringing strongly influences his vision. “I like that the new generations are not stuck in boxes any more like when I was a teenager,” he tells Dazed. “Now there is fusion in everything, and it’s actually more natural.”
Karim Huu Do shows the difficulties of leaving home through the eyes of legend Roger Federer
The commercial featuring Roger Federer is for the brand Rimowa, which specializes in suitcases. The tagline, “no one builds a legacy by standing still”, flashes after almost a minute of tennis legend Roger Federer training, traveling, and reenacting the difficult conversation when leaving home for the sake of sport. This plays off of the fact that Federer left home at only 14, sacrificing his childhood and home life for tennis.
Although the commercial is only a minute long, it shows the sacrifice that Federer had to make. In a commercial for a high-end suitcase, Huu Do managed to show the difficult dimension of travel many often ignore.
See more of Karim Huu Do’s work here.
