Bona Fide Stories

18/06/2024

"If war comes to you" won GOLD in "Best use of video" at Danish Digital Awards 2024!

We're extremely proud to see our project alongside work from some of the biggest and brightest within our industry. Congratulations to all our fellow winners and nominees.

It was quite the journey, lasting for one year give or take, to realise a project of this magnitude. From initial pitch, to international workshops, presentations for global teams of legal advisers, interviewing soldiers/aid workers/civilians, learning about the laws of war, script writing and then finally going into production. The journey continues as we're still adding to the 10 language and country versions currently available.

A sincere thanks to Dansk Røde Kors, International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC and ELSG for trusting us with this project. Especially to Morten Schwarz Lausten, Klaus Nørskov og Sine Heiberg. Thank you to our trusted legal adviser Vincent Sautenet for helping us navigate the laws of war before and during production. Thank you to Oliver Jacoby for helping us assemble our amazing cast and crew and for assisting to bring every aspect of the production to a higher level. Thank you to Good City for working with us to create the interactive platform and website. And finally a huge thank you to the entire cast and crew who all excelled during the production - both professionally and in being genuinely nice people.

Thank you to

CREW
Director: Mathias de Melo Lundegaard
Producer, writer and script supervisor: Johan Büchler
Producer, writer and DP: Travis Lacy
Production Manager & 1. AD: Oliver Jacoby
Script Supervisor: Josephine Leonora Vedel Larsen
Production Designer: Sune Wildau Hansen
Sound Recordist: Thea Nyboe Jacobsen
Gaffer: Lukas Plesner
MUA: Sofie Bau
Runner: Peter Wagner Lassen
Special Effects / Stunts: Dansk Special Effekt Service
VFX artist: Karl Zaki
Colorgrade: Anthon Brouneus
Editor: Mira Thu
Sound Design: Johan Høyer (Lydbror)
Motion graphics: Sahand Porkar
Website and interactive platform: Good City

CAST
Helen: Katrine Bach
Ada: Ndeye Fatou Saidy Mane
Soldier: Francisco Kalle Navarro
Ada’s Father (Robert): Fab Leigh Fisher
Lara: Ida Maria Ringaard Andersen
Thomas: Anuresh Rattan
Lukas: Eskil Bøgh Tonnesen
Frank: Vincent Sautenet
Checkpoint soldier: Sammy Germain Wadi
Superior Officer: David Kudzai Chifungo
Soldier A: Bence Balassa
Soldier B: Jefferson Bond
Soldier C: Sommy Krause
Lt Hoffman: Jan Christopher Juhl
Ada’s mom: Elisa Jensen
News Anchor: Laura Allen Müller
Sofia: Zenia Radoor
Soldiers wife: Alice Elizabeth
Stunt soldier 1: Michael Ahrent Clausen
Stunt soldier 2: Valdemar Blomqvist Valentin Jespersen
Ekstra soldier: August Block

OTHER
DPA for audio equipment
Coop's ejendomsadministration for location
Hviids vinstue for location
30A photo and rental for location
Beredskabsstyrelsen for location, props & personel
ColdBore Group for costumes and props
Sun Chemical for location
Skovbo Efterskole for location
Paludan Bogcafé

26/04/2024

Have you ever tried bacon’s odd uncle, bakskuld? It’s a traditional, local delicacy on the wild West Coast of Denmark. Have a taste in this episode from our food series made for VisitDenmark 😋

25/04/2024

Wonderful Copenhagen asked us to create an animated informational video about VisitData, a new platform that enables cultural institutions to benchmark their results against industry peers ✌️

08/03/2024

We are proud to announce that our biggest fictional film project ever, called ‘If war comes to you’, has finally been released.

An interactive POV film created along International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), The Red Cross and Red Crescent European Legal Support Group (ELSG) and Danish Red Cross.

‘If war comes to you’ is created to shed light on how the laws of war can reduce suffering in times of armed conflict. You can choose to experience one day in the life of three different characters. Experience the sudden upheaval as a civilian girl caught in the midst of conflict, navigating its complexities and longing for freedom. Feel the weight of responsibility as a soldier leaving behind loved ones to defend their country. Lastly you can join the mission as a local aid worker, striving to bring relief to those affected by the devastating consequences of war. Either way you will gain insight into the laws of war (international humanitarian law) throughout the experience and on the website.

We are incredibly proud to have navigated through the creation of such an extensive project on such an extensive subject matter. A huge thank you goes out to the entire team at Red Cross and not least our amazing production- and web design team. A special thanks to Vincent Sautenet for helping us navigate the laws of war in the writing process. To Good City for working with us on creating the website and the interactive video platform. To Oliver Jacoby for helping us assemble our fantastic production team and for assisting to bring every aspect of the production to a higher level. And not least to the team at Danish Red Cross (Morten Schwarz Lausten, Klaus Nørskov and Sine Heiberg) for helping to convince ICRC, ELSG and all the contributing national Red Cross societies to trust us with a project of this magnitude.

‘If war comes to you’ have so far been released in 10 language- and country specific versions.

Danish Red Cross have recently created and launched their own extensive campaign to promote the project and soon Europe will follow.

Try the experience yourself at ifwarcomestoyou.com

07/03/2024

Laban becomes Bona Fide Stories

Almost six years have passed since Laban came to life. In dog years Laban is now well into its forties. In short: We have grown up. Since the very beginning we’ve had the immense pleasure to work with some of the best and most trusting clients, gradually being trusted with bigger and bolder projects along the way. We have grown from being friends with a mutual fascination for film and cinema into being writing partners, fellow producers and family men. And slowly but steadily we have narrowed down our raison d'etre (fancy word for purpose) to telling stories that inform and inspire, give insight and understanding. So now we feel that the time is right for saying goodbye to Laban and hello to Bona Fide Stories. Beyond looking a little different and having changed our email- and web domain, nothing really changes. Then again, we are keen on carving out more time for our families and for just being friends every once in a while, collecting new inspiration and celebrating our achievements.

Go check out our new website:
bonafidestories.com

New emails:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Much love,

Travis & Johan

16/05/2023

Wow, look at this beautiful bunch. We couldn’t have wished for a better crew on “If War Comes To You”. Everybody bringing their A game and good spirits for three weeks straight (+/-). Thank you all for bringing this story to life. ❤️ from Laban

05/05/2023

We’re now two weeks into the shooting of our biggest fictional film project ever called “If War Comes To You”.

An interactive POV film made for Red Cross, set to launch internationally this summer to shed light on the rules of war.

For almost six months we’ve been researching, brainstorming, writing, sketching and planning, and it feels amazing finally to see the story come to life.

Especially when working with such enormously talented and cool people throughout the process.

More updates to come!

18/04/2023

Hej venner. Vi leder med lys og lygte efter et (overdækket) sted i Københavnsområdet, hvor vi kan køre en Mercedes Sprinter ind og lave nogle optagelser. Den er godt og vel 2,5 meter i højden, så det er vigtigt, at vi kan komme ind med bilen. Derudover skal vi gerne være skærmet lidt fra støj. Så kender du et studie, en lade, en hemmelig hangar eller lignende, så sig til! Scenerne, som vi skal filme, foregår i lastrummet, så udseendet på location er underordnet. På forhånd tak ❤️

12/10/2022

If you’ve never disappeared down a digital rabbit hole, there’s a fair chance that you’re Amish. Algorithms work harder than ever to keep our attention by feeding us an endless flow of content 🤖 The algorithms might even know you just as well as your friends and family 😳 Recently we made this film in close collaboration with our friends at Børns Vilkår (the Children’s Rights Organization of Denmark), diving head first into the digital rabbit holes. The film is to be used in schools across the country ✌️

02/03/2022

A little buzz on Bureaubiz!

For tredje år i træk skal en kampagne vise danskerne, at Danmark altså ikke 'bare' er Danmark. Modsat tidligere år er Danske Destinationer den eneste afsender, og Hjaltelin Stahl er ikke længere bureauet bag kampagnen.