Griever Event

An immersive fundraising event, for a Dodge College senior thesis where a desperate actor is lured into an underground facility for an interview process that tests his ambition and humanity.

As a team of 1, I did the strategic, creative, and production of this event to make guests feel as they were within the Griever universe from the second they got invited. This immersive event included: Formal invitations, a custom cocktail class with Griever themed drinks, a blackjack table/station, a self-tape area, custom merchandise, and a raffle.

Year
2026

Client Leonardo Ribiero Brito, Sydney Postelwait

Miniature bottles of pink-colored shot liquor with black caps and black labels that have red text saying 'GRVR' are arranged on a silver serving tray at a social event or party.
Four black business cards with red text, with messages such as 'You performed well', 'You're having so much fun', a phone number, and 'Help us, help you'.
A box of matches with a black cover featuring red text and a triangle logo, on a dark surface.
People gathered outdoors during nighttime around a table, illuminated by warm lights, with trees and power lines in the background.
A black sign with a large red letter G and red outlines of playing card suits, a spade and a heart, illuminated by red lighting outside on a sidewalk near a grassy area and decorative rocks.
Group of people playing cards around a circular table at night, some holding drinks, with a dimly lit, decorated outdoor setting.
Dark background with four playing cards, including a 5 of diamonds featuring a gun, a 9 of hearts with a spray bottle labeled 'GRAIN', an unknown card, and a card with a gold mask. The deck box labeled 'GRVR' is also visible.
Several flyers on a red-lit wall with motivational messages including 'No Job? That's Not Your Fault.' 'Hate Yourself? You Don't Have To.' 'They Have Failed You.' 'Feeling Left Behind?' 'Don't Let Them Control You.' and 'Need Help With a Self-Tape? We Have Got You Covered.'

To promote and fundraise for my thesis short film Griever, I designed an immersive, story-driven experiential event that translated the film’s psychological themes into interactive physical touch points and experiences. The campaign began with guerrilla-style invitations: each guest received a sleek black envelope sealed with red wax and containing a minimal card reading, “Don’t let them control you. Join us for a night you will never forget,” alongside a QR RSVP code and the GRVR logo. Deliveries were performed at night while I wore a gold mask and all black, reinforcing the film’s visual motifs and creating a mysterious first impression which generated strong word-of-mouth, especially among guests with doorbell cameras who shared the experience online. 

The event environment extended the narrative through interactive elements. A dedicated voicemail phone number played a distorted, confrontational line from the film and appeared across posters and business cards distributed throughout the night. A custom blackjack station featured redesigned card suits based on key film symbols, with branded matchboxes awarded as prizes. Guests encountered unsettling business cards with personalized evaluation-style phrases, a hidden self-tape recording station with anonymous mask participation, and red welcome drinks served in branded glass vials guests could keep. A themed cocktail class, poster installations, targeted character-driven messaging, and controlled red lighting with a single green spotlight at the gaming table helped reinforce visual and thematic consistency. Together, these elements created a cohesive experience and brand world that deepened audience engagement, strengthened film identity, and turned a fundraiser into a narrative experience aligned with the film’s message and tone.