Watch: A New Short Film by Wes Anderson

The Prada-sponsored short is set in Italy — plus: a Dolce & Gabbanna spot directed by Martin Scorsese

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Good news for those looking for a Wes Anderson fix to tide them over until his next film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, checks into theaters March 7 of next year:  the director has teamed up with luxury fashion company Prada to create a short film.

The Fellini-esque Castello Cavalcanti  is set in 1950’s Italy and features Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman, clad in a bright-yellow jumpsuit, fleeing the scene of a race-car crash, in a stop-motion-animation style reminiscent of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The eight-minute short debuted at the Rome Film Festival, before premiering yesterday on the Prada website.

Anderson certainly isn’t the first director to make a foray into branded content for a fashion company. Last year, Prada collaborated with renowned and controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski on a short film titled A Therapy, which starred Helena Bonham-Carter and Ben Kingsley. Directors as varied as Darren Aronofsky, Sofia Coppola, Baz Lurhrmann, Spike Jonze and Kathryn Bigelow have all directed ads. Even Sin City co-director and graphic novelist Frank Miller has popped behind the lens in a 2010 ad for Gucci Guilty, which featured Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans.

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More recently, Martin Scorsese was hired by Dolce & Gabbana to shoot a commercial for its fragrance line, The One. The ad stars the perfume line’s spokesmodels, Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson. Scorsese, whose film The Wolf of Wall Street is due out December 25th, has also directed spots for Bleu de Chanel and has appeared in commercials for American Express and Siri.

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