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Campari unveils film noir starring Clive Owen

Campari has kicked off its Campari Red Diaries 2017 campaign with a short movie starring British actor Clive Owen as a “notorious” bartender in the 1980s.

Unveiled yesterday in Rome, Italy, the multi-layered campaign brings to life the ethos that “every cocktail tells a story” by guiding viewers on a journey through a year-long series of cocktail stories from across the globe.

The lead story in the series, a mini film noir called Killer in Red, was written and directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino and stars Owen and French/Swiss actress, Caroline Tillette.

Set in a high-end bar, the noir sees Owen take on the guise of Floyd, a “notorious bartender back in the early 1980s”, as his character imagines the story behind the creation of the eponymous cocktail creation, Killer in Red.

Owen said: “Campari Red Diaries was a very easy project to say yes to – I loved the fact it was a short movie with a proper story as opposed to a commercial, while the fact it was being directed by Sorrentino was also a great attraction. I think Sorrentino is one of the best directors out there – an imaginative visionary.”

Keeping with the tradition of the classic Campari Calendar, the Killer in Red protagonists and the bartenders behind each of the 12 cocktail stories will star in a calendar, shot by Argentinian photographer, Ale Burset.

As in previous years, only 9,999 copies have been printed and will not go on sale but will be internationally distributed to friends of Campari around the world as a memoir.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Gruppo Campari, comments: “Using film as a vehicle for the campaign has allowed us to depict the multifaceted artistry of cocktail-making as well as continuously challenging ourselves to drive our iconic status as a world-renowned contemporary global brand.

“This year’s campaign takes on a new medium without severing ties with our past Campari Calendars which is exactly our approach to the brand – to innovate without ever forgetting our heritage. I am extremely proud of the result, which I must attribute to the array of professionals we have been lucky to work with from Paolo Sorrentino, Clive Owen, Ale Burset and Ivan Olita, all of whom have left their own special mark not only on the campaign but the history of Campari.”

Take a look at the Killer in Red short movie below.

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