SERGI CASTELLÀ MARKS SVD’S LAUNCHING FILM FOR THE NEW NIKE SHOX TL

Sergi Castellà is the man behind the camera that has captured the magic of everything urban-related in a fascinating piece with which the new Nike Shox TL is being presented in society. Sports, aspirational sentences, a warm spirit and a weave of the urban landscape with a sort of magical realism, these are the pillars upon which this guy from Barcelona has been building one of the most solid audiovisual careers of recent memory.

He started filming his skater friends with a miniDV camera, and what could have been the birth of a street documentarian muted into something much more interesting. Sergi Castellà’s camera is able to capture an almost documentary-like urban reality, but, actually, this reality is better understood thanks to the magical touches that don’t exist out there, in the streets, but that anyone who’s part of the culture will immediately understand.

The magic realism as a tool to talk about a deep, poetic and spiritual reality that lives there, in the landscape of the city, but that we sometimes overlook. These are the devices which Castellà has already worked with for firms like Audi, Volkswagen, Mango or Lacoste. And this is only the beginning. Because, just like any magical realism novel, the best is yet to come.

You grew up in Barcelona but you currently live in Los Angeles… If you could take the best thing out of each city, creative-wise, what would the perfect city resulting from this sum look like?

Los Angeles’ light, in every respect, and Barcelona’s calm elegance.

You started out filming your skater friends, what’s left of that Sergi in your current work?

I’m still looking for stories that resonate with me. With my first miniDV I filmed my friends with whom I skated with, but, above all, I recorded our teenage adventures in search of stories. I’m still doing the same thing, but I have the ability to create them as well, which brings me as much excitement as it used to back then. So I feel like the essence is the same.

And what was it that attracted you to the audiovisual specifically and not to other similar artistic disciplines like photography?

The artistic language is what has always attracted me the most, and I want to keep exploring it. The audiovisual is formed by all of the disciplines that I like the most like photography, music, writing, acting, architecture, fashion… Everything turns it into a language that is very much alive, and I imagine that that life is what keeps me coming back to it.

Your creations have a stimulating touch of magical realism that, at first, isn’t something that we see very often in urban audiovisuals. Do you think that that urban element is missing some magic?

I don’t think the urban audiovisual is missing anything. Any story told in an urban environment has the same magic as any other one told in a different environment. Magic is everywhere, and currently, I’m interested in exploring it visually but without disconnecting myself from a visual reality with which I can empathise. That’s why as I’ve lived in cities it’s normal for my stories to be told in urban environments. We’ll see what I’ll be doing when I end up living in front of a beach in a calm island.

You’re also working on music videos. Is it hard for you to change registers while still keeping such a defined artistic voice like yours?

I’ve actually only worked on a few music videos, but the one thing they all have in common is that they all have a narrative. I much prefer shots that are telling something on a level that I can connect with than those that don’t.

It’s not the first time you’ve worked with Nike and, in fact, there’s quite a continuity in your pieces for the brand. What is most interesting for you when exploring, in this case, this brand’s imagery?

Nike continuously works towards staying grounded and connected with the streets, sports and new generations that are the present and future of our civilisation. For that reason, working with them allows me to explore ideas that I’m interested in and that are related to all these themes that are important to me too.

Now that we’re talking about clothes, what is your favourite item? What is the first item you think of every time you’re getting dressed?

White t-shirts and white sneakers have almost always been number one for me. Regardless of the model, because that has been changing with the seasons. Right now I’m wearing the Nike SB TEAM CLASSIC Light Cream with which I did my last project in Barcelona.

Advertising, music videos… What’s Sergi Castellà dream, future like?

Peace and love in the universe and movies that can help keep this harmony.