Sune Sorensen on Blending Puppetry, Generative AI and World-Class Filmmaking Talents for Allegro
To understand the pressure facing any director who takes on the Allegro Christmas campaign, you first have to understand the brand’s dominance. Allegro is the Amazon of Poland and the largest marketplace of European origin, serving millions of customers across Central and Eastern Europe. But more importantly, it is a brand with a unique cultural legacy. Since its viral 2016 holiday spot, ‘English for Beginners’, Allegro has earned a reputation as the ‘John Lewis of Poland’. Its annual festive release is not just a commercial; it is a cultural event, scrutinised by the public and the industry alike.
This year’s film, created by DDB Warsaw and produced by MOON Films, was directed by Sune Sorensen. And together they have taken a risk: telling a deeply human story about parental neglect and redemption, powered by a hybrid workflow of generative AI and old-school practical effects.
The film follows a young girl whose father is physically present but emotionally absent. To fill the void, she retreats into her imaginary friends (IF), who are whimsical, sketched characters that come to life. While the characters were designed and iterated using gen AI in a workflow with Platige Image, Sune insisted on taking a grounded, tactile approach on set. To ensure the child actor’s performance remained authentic, the production utilised puppeteers and stilt-walkers, blending the cutting edge of tech with theatrical tradition.
Visually, the film eschews the glossy Christmas look for something grittier, enlisting cinematographer Eigil Bryld (‘The Holdovers’, ‘In Bruges’) to create a textured, realistic world. LBB’s Alex Reeves spoke to Sune to find out how he directed a child to interact with AI ghosts, why he ignored the pressure of the brand’s legacy, and why no amount of VFX can hide a bad story.
LBB> Allegro’s Christmas commercials have become a cultural touchstone in Poland and beyond, carrying a weight of expectation in their home country similar to the John Lewis ads in the UK. As a director, how did you balance the pressure of that legacy with the need to tell an intimate, contained story about a father and daughter?
Sune> Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. To use your own reference, I feel the John Lewis campaigns are a good example that it can be dangerous to become a "victim of your own success" by allowing a positive legacy to pressure you into rethinking orrevamping your approach, at least at a core level. You risk ending up with anxiety-driven results that are "trying too hard”. Audiences don't respond to that, because it's not coming from the right place. And that place has to be story...
Who are the characters? What are their motivations? And why should I care about them and their story? A natural respect and reverence for past standards is only healthy, but no amount of visual effects, overdone flashbacks, or expensive sets can hide a bad story.
LBB> The campaign relies on a very specific integration of generative AI to bring the imaginary characters to life. The press release mentions that it was crucial for AI to ‘support rather than replace’ human creativity. Could you walk us through the practical workflow with Platige Image? At what stage did the AI enter the pipeline, and how much control did you retain over the specific movement and personality of those sketches?
Sune> I wanted the IFs (Imaginary Friends) to represent an emotional anchor in Ida's life (played by Delilah Bradley), so we began work on their personalities and appearances from the earliest stages of the project. In fact, I didn't feel we could start shooting without knowing who the IFs were (not just what they were doing). AI behaves very differently than traditional post production, which means that some things are significantly easier whereas others can be surprisingly complex.
Normally, generating multiple characters isincredibly costly and time consuming, which isn’t the case with AI. So, we prompted hundreds, if not thousands, of IFs based on personality and characteristics debriefingsuntil we arrived at the ones we have in the film. Meanwhile, AI still has quite a few limitations and you need to have a fairly deep understanding of what works and what doesn't, especially when integrating them with actors and within a non-AI workflow. It required that I specified their exact involvement, interaction, movements, and personality, but also their height, size, and type on a storyboard level before going into production.
LBB> The narrative arc – a busy parent missing a crucial moment and then redeeming themselves – is a classic Christmas trope. How did you work with the actors to ensure the father’s absence felt grounded and painful, without making him unlikeable, and to ensure the resolution felt earned rather than just ‘fixed’ by a purchase?
Sune> The difference between "tropey" and genuine can be surprisingly subtle and it’s usually about making the right choices for the story and, of course, in the execution. I start by looking at the motivations of the characters and for a believable setting. This enables more valid, authentic performances because they're grounded in something real. For instance, if Delilah's character had been younger, the parent's lack of presence would be harder to forgive. If the father's purchase didn't represent a longer term commitment, it would have been a misguided "quick fix". The story isn't just about missing "one big moment", it's about missing the small important ones, every day. Walking to school together, spending the mornings together.
Working closely with the actors so they understand these layers enables more complex characters, who contain a depth that allows less simplistic interpretations of them than simply “unlikable” or “likable”. Delilah was aware that her IFs were a way of copingwith her parent's missing presence, so she understood the symbolic value of her dad's gesture – it's not about the sketchbook or his drawing, but about what it represents. Thathe recognises her pain and wants to start a new chapter, together.
LBB> Working with child actors requires a specific approach to maintain authenticity, but here you also had the technical challenge of the girl interacting with imaginary friends that weren't there on set. How did you direct her performance to ensure those interactions with the sketched friends felt genuine and emotionally resonant?
Sune> Firstly, we worked closely with puppeteers, stilt artists, and theatrical performers, so she had someone or something to act against and react to. Secondly, we prepared a lot of artwork and storyboards to illustrate what was actually going to be in the scenes, so she understood the IFs and their purpose. Thirdly, I directed her interactions exactly like I would if it had been opposite an actor, so she would "see" them as vividly and clearly as she would if they were real. Most importantly, I always wanted her to know why the friends were there.
LBB> Visually, the film contrasts the somewhat grey, isolated reality of the girl’s school life with the vibrant, sketched world of her imagination. How did you and the DoP approach the cinematography to distinguish these two emotional states before they eventually merge in the final scene?
Sune> I wanted the tone to be very realistic with a subtle expressive lighting, rich in texture and grain but not afraid of hard shadows, and emphasising faces over spectacle.
That’s why I felt Eigil Bryld (‘The Holdovers’, ‘In Bruges’) was perfect for the project. He found just the right tone to juxtapose a subtle loneliness with a vivid imagination. A modern fable where the fabric of reality seeps into fantasy and vice versa.
I worked with Platige and our colourist to ensure that Eigil’s cinematography would be reflected in the lighting and coloring of the IFs as well, so they mirrored her experience of the world. Moving this principle across seasons, and through daytime and night-time, helped smoothen the transition into its final merger.
LBB> The sketches are ‘charming’ and a bit wild. Did these start as physical drawings on paper during pre-production? I’m curious about the design process – did the art department create them, or were they inspired by actual children’s drawings to get that raw, imperfect aesthetic?
Sune> The IFs, or sketches, went through months-long preparations. Ida's IFs fill a void in her life so they can't just be arbitrary ideas or “funny" – it would feel gimmicky. They are there for emotional support, to keep her company, or to make her feel safe. Their function is important. Therefore, I started by defining the emotional characteristics and purpose of each character in accordance with the scenes, which we used to narrow down their personalities and the overall approach.
We applied a number of methods, including kids’ sketches (even my own children got involved), but it was important to me that we maintained story relevance. Ultimately, it required a huge team effort with the wonderful people at DDB, Moon Films, Platige, and Allegro complete with sketches, drawings, trials and errors, ideas, calls, and a lot of “dead darlings”, to find the right ones. It was, by far, the most time consuming and complicated part of the project, because it was so important for the IFs to feel right in the scenes.
LBB> Is there a moment or detail in the final film that you're particularly happy with?
Sune> Not one in particular, no. I would say, there is one moment I am particularly happy thatwe managed to get. It took a great deal of effort (for the art department especially) to pull off our final match-cut wide shots of the seasons changing. This meant a lot to me, because it symbolises the difference between a "quick fix" and a long term commitment.
That said, I feel these types of stories need a collective effort to come together in a fulfilling way. Ittakes a large team of incredibly talented and uncompromising people, who all work hard for the same vision, and that's difficult to boil down to just one moment.
