Michel + Nico on Crafting AIB’s Joyful, Generational Love Letter to the GAA

For AIB and TBWA\Ireland’s latest he Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) spot, ‘Grasp Life’, Michel + Nico didn’t want to make a sports film. They wanted to make a life film.

The Banjoman duo, known for their intimate, naturalistic storytelling with young performers, channelled the spirit of community at the heart of Gaelic games into a warm, cyclical journey told through one girl’s eyes.

From the chaotic genius of casting four real sisters as the evolving Jenny, to weather-assisted magic and a production built entirely on trust, the directors unpack how a brief about support became a celebration of joy, identity and finding your people.

LBB> What was the original brief from AIB and TBWA\Ireland for this film?

Michel + Nico> Support. Belonging. How GAA weaves through lives and builds communities. They wanted something that felt Irish to the bone but universal enough that anyone could recognise themselves in it. Less corporate support message, more human truth about finding your people.

Right so, TBWA/AIB came to us specifically because we know how to handle these natural, intimate stories with kids. Real glimpses of life, you know? One of their main references was this short film we made with our own sons. Dead simple idea - just our kids being kids - but it became something special. Sometimes the simplest concepts lead to the most honest work.

LBB> How did you choose to interpret that brief?

Michel + Nico> Look, for us sport is just a topic. Passion is everything.
Dead simple, we're not making a film about sport. We're making a film about the life that gets built around sport. Boom. Sport is cyclical, generational, messy and beautiful.

What happens when you say yes to that ball at nine? What unfolds? The GAA ball stops being about the sport and becomes about mates, first love, identity, finding where you fit. We show it through Jenny's eyes, her imagination, her projection of what's possible. Then we watch it become real.

Our approach? We only want to tell positive stories. That's non-negotiable for us. No grit, only hugs. No manufactured drama about sacrifice or pain. Just the pure joy of saying yes to something, finding your people, becoming yourself through community.

LBB> Tell me about casting and why you cast four real sisters?

Michel + Nico> Oh god. So we had this genius idea: add a fourth Jenny! Brilliant on paper. Absolute casting nightmare in reality. Three girls playing one character is hard. Four? We're masochists.

But here's why they came to us, we know how to handle natural stories with kids, glimpses of real life. One of their references was this short film we made with our own kids. Sometimes the simplest ideas lead to the most special work.

So we're drowning in casting sessions trying to find four girls who share some mysterious soul-thing. Then four actual sisters walk in. We look at each other like... right, OK, the universe is smarter than us. They had it. Real sisters, real chemistry. Done.

Also, casting Irish people? Amazing. Most of them are just naturally brilliant on camera. There's this ease, this lack of bullshit. They don't "act" - they just are. Made our lives so much easier.

LBB> How collaboratively did you work with the agency and client?

Michel + Nico> Smooth as olive oil from day one. Genuinely lovely.

We started as partners, finished as mates. That's how we try to work, communication, jokes, taking the piss, constant energy. No precious director nonsense. We're just one part of the process! They need fresh ideas/energy at some point, we need their cultural compass.

Constant emails, sharing random music all long, debating over snacks whether the fourth Jenny was genius or madness. They trusted our vision, we trusted their experience. Everyone just trying to make something good and new.

LBB> What were the main considerations for visual and emotional authenticity?

Michel + Nico> First, we're French, which sounds mad for a GAA film but actually works perfectly as always, haha.

But we'd already spent time in GAA world before this brief landed. You do that or the film smells fake immediately. But we had our GAA experience.

Visually, natural light most of the time, nothing dark or moody. And we got ridiculously lucky. Ireland gave us every season in three days. Sunshine, rain, wind, that perfect soft grey light. We didn't plan it, it just happened. Created this amazing visual journey through her life without us forcing anything.

Petzval lenses for the dream bits - that spherical blur - all in-camera, no post tricks. Wanted the magic to feel organic.

Emotionally? Just honesty. When Jenny loses and gets consoled - that moment matters more than any goal. That's GAA culture right there.

Everything lived-in. And those sisters who'd lived some version of this? You can't fake that. Irish people just have this natural thing - they exist rather than perform.

Authenticity came from respect, asking stupid questions about stupid things and receiving smart answers, an amazing production team with Banjoman, a great agency team who trusted us, a great client who trust everybody and frankly, insane weather luck… Or not - But that’s the magic in Ireland and we LOVED every part of it.