A Godfrey Dadich Partners x Hakuhodo production for Sony AI has been accepted into the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival as an Official Selection of the Tribeca X competition. The Team Behind GT Sophy is a three-part docuseries that tells the story of the development of GT Sophy, a major AI breakthrough for gaming and entertainment. The series was directed and executive-produced by Paula Chowles, executive producer and partner at Godfrey Dadich Partners.
“This film series exemplifies powerful brand storytelling—deep client partnership, rigorous strategy, an authentic journalistic approach to narrative, and world-class documentary filmmaking from a team of unparalleled creatives,” said Scott Dadich, CEO of Godfrey Dadich Partners and EP of all Godfrey Dadich productions, including Abstract: The Art of Design on Netflix. “The opportunity to work with our teammates at Hakuhodo alongside the global Sony AI team, to unearth and tell the story of their breakthrough work, and execute it in the height of the pandemic makes this recognition even more rewarding.”
The Tribeca Film Festival brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, music, audio storytelling, games, and XR. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. The annual Tribeca Film Festival will celebrate its 22nd year June 7–18, 2023, in New York City. Tribeca X celebrates the intersection of advertising and entertainment, and honors the creators and brands who share a love of creativity and a mission to connect with consumers through the power of storytelling. Awarded films will be announced at an event on June 14, 2023.
GT Sophy surpassed Sony AI researcher’s expectations during races against the best human Gran Turismo players in the world, and the documentary series captures those nail-biting scenes while detailing the engineering that trained GT Sophy to learn and adapt the best racing lines, weave through competitive human and AI racers in completely novel ways, and throttle its speed in true sporting fashion. Godfrey Dadich’s creative team designed a comprehensive motion graphics system that bridged action-packed vignettes from Gran Turismo gameplay with technical explainers and chyrons that introduced Sony AI’s brand. All three parts can be viewed on the Sony AI YouTube channel.
The Godfrey Dadich x Hakuhodo engagement with Sony AI included strategy work—inspired by Godfrey Dadich’s practice of The New Editorial—to develop an editorial charter that would function as the lens through which all of Sony AI’s storytelling would be told. GDP’s team of journalists worked to unearth compelling narratives for short-form documentaries tracing GT Sophy’s origin story.
The series set out to explore the science, creativity, and ingenuity of AI innovation more deeply through the eyes of Sony AI’s international team. Each film was structured as a 10-minute chapter—charting the agent’s genesis, first test runs, and final tune-ups. The series seamlessly showcased the stories of 16 innovators working in seven cities across three continents.