A 20 mins Documentary by a Maltese, Female Filmmaker, about the Playmobil Brand & Products.

A student filmmaker takes on a challenging documentary, about a brand history, that has seen 4 generations of childplay and its secrets in competing with technology gadgets. Taking the toy to space and back has proven Playmobil's philosophy to the fact that their product inspires and motivates imagination in both children and adults.

As part of her graduation from HandsOn Malta School of Filmmakers, Samantha C. Ellis has chosen to research and document the success of a global brand, which also has, a forty year history of successful operations in Malta.  The specific toy produced, is popular with both young and adults, for 4 generations and has been successfully competing with other toys and technological gadgets.

The journey to producing Project Play did not fall short of Samantha's challenge, equipped with school resources and fellow student filmmakers, she set off to sell her idea to Playmobil Malta, and together with Playmobil Germany, the companies gave her immediate support and showed commitment towards her project.

"I chose to do my graduation documentary about Playmobil because as the company's philosophy states, these little guys do inspire you to role play. I was inspired by my childhood memories playing with Playmobil toys, and combined my fascination for space, to create a basis for the documentary. The little astronaut fitted perfectly within the story, and the footage it came back with from space, was exhilarating to watch," says Samantha.

The subject matter of Project Play is to expose the educational and creative façade behind the toy figurines, alongside its process from design to manufacturing and packaging, as well as its interesting history throughout the decades and its creator and visionary Hans Beck (1929 - 2009).

Hans Beck thrived for Playmobil toys to allow children to be imaginative. "I would put the little figures in the children's hands without saying anything about what they were," as Beck has remarked when observing children's reaction in testing. "They accepted them right away. They invented little scenarios for them. They never grew tired of playing with them."

Project Play is now available on the HandsOn School of Filmmakers Youtube channel by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Ej3OIk518