Rocco Up, a documentary filmed & directed by John Madere, captures the heartfelt story of a severely autistic boy whose father taught him to surf as a non-verbal means of connecting with him. Along their journey the surf community of Montauk, NY, was instrumental in cheering him to stand “up” on the surfboard. The goal was to create a brand strategy and to promote the film to support the production’s fundraising effort.

For the Rocco Up movie poster, John Madere, concentrated on the technical and aesthetic aspects of the frame to capture the moment through a drone camera. Decker Design designed and curated the image to engage an audience in the emotional story while highlighting the natural beauty of Montauk—the backdrop to this tale. The film’s brand identity was designed to provide visual consistency.

As of October, Rocco Up was accepted into the Hamptons International Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Korean International Short Film Festival and Surfalorous Film Festival. The film’s director, John Madere, won the award for Best Documentary at the Korean International Short Film Festival and the editor and writer, Ruth Mamaril, won the award for Best Editing at the Surfalorus Film Festival. Social media has been meeting donor acquisition goals.