Sideways
Gouvernement du Québec — MSSS — Cossette
About this project
Sideways is a public awareness film for the Government of Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), directed by Olivier Staub with Cossette and Les Enfants. The film follows a man living his entire daily life sideways — working sideways, doing the dishes sideways, walking sideways — while the world around him continues as if nothing is unusual. Using precise framing, minimal camera movement and controlled mise en scène, the absurd is made strangely real. Only at the end does the metaphor resolve: if you feel sideways, reach out. There is help.
Director's Statement
For Sideways, I wanted the metaphor to be simple, strange and immediate: a man living entirely sideways. He walks sideways, works sideways, does the dishes sideways, goes through his daily life sideways. The world around him continues as if everything is normal, creating a creepy quiet tension. Precise frames, almost no camera movement, and a controlled mise en scène made the absurd feel strangely real. Only at the end does the metaphor reveal itself. If you feel sideways, reach out. There is help.
Print / OOH
Croche - Print AD - Adult
Croche - Print Ad - Sports
Croche - Print Ad - School
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Credits
Details
Versions
Awards
Press
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Sideways
Gouvernement du Québec — MSSS — Cossette
2022
About this project
Sideways is a public awareness film for the Government of Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), directed by Olivier Staub with Cossette and Les Enfants. The film follows a man living his entire daily life sideways — working sideways, doing the dishes sideways, walking sideways — while the world around him continues as if nothing is unusual. Using precise framing, minimal camera movement and controlled mise en scène, the absurd is made strangely real. Only at the end does the metaphor resolve: if you feel sideways, reach out. There is help.
Director's Statement
For Sideways, I wanted the metaphor to be simple, strange and immediate: a man living entirely sideways. He walks sideways, works sideways, does the dishes sideways, goes through his daily life sideways. The world around him continues as if everything is normal, creating a creepy quiet tension. Precise frames, almost no camera movement, and a controlled mise en scène made the absurd feel strangely real. Only at the end does the metaphor reveal itself. If you feel sideways, reach out. There is help.
Print / OOH
Croche - Print AD - Adult
Croche - Print Ad - Sports
Croche - Print Ad - School
Credits
Director — Olivier Staub
Director of Photography — jonathan Decoste
Producer — Guillaume Arsenault (Les Enfants)
Agency Producer — Marie-France Cusson (Cossette)
Creative Director — Cédric Audet (Cossette)
Copywriter — Alex Bégin (Cossette)
Art Director — Geneviève Renaud (Cossette)
Account Director — Léa Breton (Cossette)
Chief Strategy Officer — Marie Vaillancourt (Cossette)
Senior Editor — Monica Remba (Married To Giants)
Color Grading Artist — Benoît Côté
VFX & Compositing — (Rodeo FX)
Sound Design & Mix — François Bélanger (Cult Nation)
Awards
IDEA Awards — Bronze (Film Direction, 2022)
IDEA Awards — Bronze (DoP, 2022)
IDEA Awards — Bronze (Sound Design, 2022)
Press
Les Enfants Will Knock You Sideways — Shots: https://shots.net/news/view/les-enfants-will-knock-you-sideways
A Modern Story. An Off-Kilter Life — The Stable: https://www.thestable.com.au/cossette-les-enfants-a-modern-story-an-off-kilter-life/
Quebec's Health and Social Services Ministry Delivers a Cautionary Tale About Mental Health — Ads of Brands: https://adsofbrands.net/en/news/quebec-s-health-and-social-services-ministry-delivers-a-cautionary-tale-about-mental-health/2741
Government of Québec: Sideways — Ads of the World: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/sideways-86f091a4-86d3-41fc-888c-a9154dfe8f1b