2019 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

To bring our idea to life, our executions needed to portray drama in its most exaggerated form. We recalled the hyperbolic emotion and stupendous over-acting of the 1980s Spanish telenovas or “soap operas,” so we hinged our campaign on replicating these retro Spanish soaps entirely. Each execution played out as a single episode based on seemingly ordinary situations but shot in the dramatic style that mirrored the master scenes of the Spanish soap opera genre. Our cast remained the same throughout each episode, acting as typical soap family characters; the drama queen wife, the reactive husband, the bossy mother-in-law, the teenage daughter and eight-year-old son. Similar to the soaps, our situations were always triggered by one event that resulted in an extreme dramatic outburst. Yet that event could have been completely avoided if our products were in the home; the simple solutions that could have avoided the drama.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

The Spanish soap operas of the 1980s were much-loved by Arab families who would sit together around the television, gripped by every episode, feeling empathy and recognition with the dramas that unfolded every week. They soaps were always dubbed in classical Arabic as even though the language was no longer spoken, it added to the theatrical entertainment and allowed the dialog to be understood and enjoyed across the Arab world. This deeply nostalgic aspect of the Spanish soap operas helped bring our idea to life right away and achieve the overall look and feel we were aiming for.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction.

With direction, the goal was to remain committed to the authenticity of the genre and include all the retro elements that re-created the look and feel our audience were familiar with. The structure of the film triggered the build-up of drama by creating a master scene in every episode. Over-exaggerated acting, camera movements that replicated how the soaps were filmed with their famous crash zooms and whip pan actions, different camera angels that captured the same reaction and frames that spoon-fed emotions directly to the audience were all taken into account. The art direction established the soap opera-style from the very first frame along with wardrobe, hair and make-up that immediately conjured up typical 80s soap opera characters for our audience.