The NxB Partnership Bringing German and Swiss Storytelling to Life
The Swiss, female-driven film production company NAVADA opened its doors in June of 2023 and the work has been flooding in since. With a gap in the market to empower brands and companies with authentic, transformative and inspiring work from its female creatives, it seems that the Swiss industry was waiting for an opportunity to empower a more representative industry.
As more and more people heard about this women-powered team, and the NAVADA company name was mentioned, the folk over at BONAPARTE, a German production company, wanted to know more. “Nico reached out to me,” explains NAVADA’s managing partner and executive producer Mariska van Lavieren, “He was like ‘Hey, do you want a call?’ it was a Friday evening and I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go!’”
Having grown up in the south of Germany near the Alps, filmmaker Nico Kreis always felt a connection between Germany and Switzerland, cultivating his friendships and connections across both countries. When he then heard of the NAVADA team, it seemed to fit in with the BONAPARTE vision. “We found these collaborators in the NAVADA team,” he explains. “Led by Mariska and Laura, two bold female entrepreneurs, NAVADA believes you can only change the industry if you take action and not just talk. I strongly support this approach!”
From there, the two shared aligned visions and goals that they were working towards, and it was the beginning of the NxB partnership. As the NAVADA team visited Berlin and the BONAPARTE team flew over to Switzerland, both companies began to understand the shared values between the two. “The [BONAPARTE] team are a lovely, super diverse and supportive team,” Mariska reflects upon meeting them.
[Hyundai campaign by BONAPARTE]
Nico echoes this sentiment, “My philosophy has always been to partner up with people who are contributing something exceptional – aspects you don’t have – so you can learn, grow and get better together. At the same time, as such a dynamic and diverse production house, Bonaparte has to have partners who are equally eager, ambitious and passionate like we are!”
Working in this partnership, the NxB venture aims to join forces between both rosters of talent to continue to expand within their markets and beyond. Mariska explains how the expertise of an established company is set to support NAVADA, “I'm really happy that I can now have a partner where I can go to and get advice, and also have strengthened my backbone a little bit.”
Similarly, BONAPARTE is looking forward to the fresh perspectives and commitment to storytelling which NAVADA brings. Nico explains, “In times when AI tools are a more and more common part of our production processes, we as filmmakers have to focus on what is inherently ours: The human perspective on life in all its facets.
“It is our superpower to tell stories in a way that touches the minds and hearts of human beings. This is a very special offer we give to our clients and the audience and will be even more important in the future.”
He continues, “Being authentic and true to what makes us human, is a quality we have to bring even more into our future projects. The Swiss market in particular is very open to storytelling that is human-centred and comes from a deep understanding of the country and its people.”
[Asics campaign by NAVADA]
As for how this is being executed, Mariska explains, “For us, it starts with the pitching process – do we want to do this job?” With morals and principles to stand behind, the team always considers which clients they will and won’t work with, as well as who they put forward for each project. “When we pitch, we combine the established people with female and young talent so that people can see them, even if their reel isn’t ready yet.
“You want to place them in people’s minds and see the potential, and hope that there are creative people at the agency who see that creativity.” Not only this, they also consider the balance of people working on projects and the minister. “The young can learn from the established and the established can learn from the creativity and mindset of young people,” Mariska explains.
She also goes on to explain how the team then pushes for diversity within projects, “The typical Swiss girl is not a typical Swiss girl,” she says and explains how the team advocates for POC representation, as well as being mindful of breaking cliches. “Every project is a bit different and you need to find ways to implement those values.”
Nico explains, “In the design of this joint venture, it was very important that each team contributes what's uniquely theirs to create a set-up that's greater than each individual company. The credo is: The sum is more than its parts!”
“We’ve designed this joint venture in a very inclusive and open-minded way that leaves room for each one of us to flourish. Ultimately, everything we do comes from the urge to deliver the best possible service to our creatives, whether they are working on the agency, client or film production end.”
[The New York Times campaign by BONAPARTE]
There’s also the real-time logistics to consider, something which is relatively easy to do with virtual meetings and chats so readily available, as Nico shares. “On an operational level, we are in daily contact and meet frequently in Zurich and Berlin. We want to further build this already deep relationship between our two teams to grow and learn from each other.”
As well as learning from the partnership itself, Mariska shares how brands such as The North Face and Patagonia inspire her, as well as the Berlin-based production company STUDIO 11:40, which is also a female*-focused company. And for Nico, this inspiration comes from some fantastic companies over the years.
He says, “The one brand that certainly stood out last year was Hyundai. Together with our director Nicole Ackermann and the agency Jung von Matt, Bonaparte was able to shoot an entire film from a female perspective on football. A film we are very proud of and that sets the benchmark for our future productions.”
Speaking of these projects, the NAVADA and BONAPARTE partnership is currently blossoming, keeping everyone in the NxB universe busy. Without sounding too cliche – watch this space for what’s to come!
