“After fifteen years of folks thinking that the production companies I managed were mine, I’m finally launching my own, Mr+Positive.” Peter Grasse has launched his own Asia Pacific production concept with the same verve and vigour that has spurred the international successes of the companies for which he has worked.

“I called it Mr+Positive because that’s what my wife calls me. Although, she doesn’t always mean it positively. By nature, I always take it as a compliment,” Grasse explained.

The name represents both Grasse’s rejection of the doom and gloom that has become pervasive in advertising and production, and his belief in the future.

“For twelve years, I witnessed the doom & gloom of Australian production firsthand,” he commented. This disappointed Grasse. In 2016, he saw and seized an opportunity to make great work for a bigger market in an environment, where creativity and endeavour were the guiding lights.

“In Japan I’ve done the best work of my life.”

His films for Nike, Diesel and most Tencent’s King of Fighters demonstrate that. The Japanese Diesel commercial, The Walls, trumped its global predecessor not only in views, likes, and shares but also in overall critical acclaim. Nike Japan’s Don’t Know Your Place became symbolic for a shift in an entrenched local culture.

And Grasse has been recognised for doing his best work. He was selected for the film craft jury at Cannes last year.

“That seduced me into feeling like I’d finally arrived, for a while. But, I hadn’t. There’s something else that drives me,” Grasse noted.

That something else is producing even better work in his home market. And perhaps being one of the instruments of change in a professional culture that he knows needs reminding of its powers. With over ten years of trusted collaboration with the best minds in the industry and being backed by the most talented crews in the business, Grasse is well placed to do both.

Grasse is not the only industry expert seeing opportunity rather than obstacles. “Everything has changed but nothing has changed. Let’s not cry doom and gloom,” Terry Savage, chief executive officer of Cannes Lions, told the audience at AWARD’s Think:Long in May.

“It’s sad that right now we are giving ourselves the biggest beating up when we should be on an absolute high.”

“Why is the prevailing mood that producing great work in Australia is hard to do?” Grasse asked.

“There’s more content being produced for more consumers than ever, and it’s increasingly easier to reach them. Yet there are obstacles to our success? We can cite shifting media, procurement, or research as the obstacles in our way. But they’re not. Rather, I believe an overall lack of industry honesty and resulting positivity are the culprits.

“I know Australia isn’t Japan, but what I learned working there is worth bringing home. Honesty and agility lead to greater overall positivity. Working hard to find, connect and produce the best talent for each and every project is professionally rewarding. The most revolutionary idea in the industry right now is optimism.”

And as Grasse knows from experience, revolutionary ideas win work, win awards and generate positive change.

Get to know Mr+Positive here.