In 2017, in partnership with ad agency RPA, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation unveiled a groundbreaking campaign harnessing some of the global creative industry's brightest stars. This partnership produced a series of 20 animated films addressing the first experiences most children and their loved ones face with a cancer diagnosis. Each film features fictional characters called the Imaginary Friend Society who teach kids about cancer treatment in ways that are easy to understand. Gentleman Scholar is very proud to have been selected to produce the three-minute opening piece, "Welcome to the Imaginary Friend Society."

According to the PBTF and its partners, this new film series has been brought to life due to a lack of quality material focusing on the medical and emotional aspects of cancer specifically for children. The PBTF knows first-hand how kids with cancer must face an array of invasive procedures that are scary and confusing. The Imaginary Friend Society was actually born from cancer survivors who used imaginary friends to cope with their treatments. "It's our goal to help the more than 4,600 children diagnosed with a primary brain or central nervous system tumor each year. That's 13 new cases per day," said Robin Boettcher, President and CEO of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

"I'm so thrilled we could get so many real friends together to bring the Imaginary Friend Society to life," said Jason Sperling, SVP/Chief of Creative Development at RPA. "This colossal project was an absolute labor of love. To make these terrifying experiences a little easier for kids dealing with cancer, and to bring smiles to their faces during a truly difficult time, makes it all worth it."

Naturally, being invited to introduce the Imaginary Friend Society to the world was a great honor for everyone at Gentleman Scholar, including directors William Campbell and Will Johnson, ACD Michael Tavarez and their colleagues, executive producer Jo Arghiris, senior producer Tyler Locke, and CG supervisor Tim Hayward, among many others.

"Of course, it was paramount that we push ourselves to construct something remarkable," Tavarez began. "Our goal became crafting a world that would serve as the central station for all the other videos in the series. To embody all these animations and their different mediums, we designed dozens of mixed-media characters who could live together." Looking to the future, the PBTF is teaming with child life specialists, social workers and medical staff at hospitals across America, as well as other childhood cancer nonprofits, to bring this film series to families in the midst of treatment.