2019 Winners & Shortlists

WORLD WITHOUT WALLS

BrandBABYSHOP
Product/ServiceRAMADAN CAMPAIGN
EntrantFP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryScript
Idea Creation FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement 2 OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production 2 MITRA FILM Bucharest, ROMANIA
Production 3 ABIS STUDIO Bucharest, ROMANIA

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Ramadan is a month when Muslims fast from pre-dawn to pre-dusk, abstaining from food and drink all-day. Children, around 9-years-old, are encouraged to start fasting too. The fast typically starts pre-dusk (between 3-4 am). People wake up to eat and drink enough to suffice them for the entire day. This film starts with that moment of Suhour (starting the fast). It follows the journey of a child making his way through a world without walls: from his room to his parents’ room to a luxurious Middle East home to a refugee tent to a South Asian home to an old people’s nursing home and finally, to an orphanage, and beyond... Until a surprising reveal, where the brand, Babyshop, shares its Ramadan perspective: “If we see the world through the eyes of a child, we too could see a world without walls.”

Cultural/Context information for the jury

We live a world divided by prejudices and boundaries. But Ramadan, a month of unity in this divided world, is a time for new perspectives. So, when Babyshop wanted to win attention and consideration from its target audience (parents), we needed to redefine the way that a retail brand spoke during Ramadan’s clutter of retail offers and promotions. We shared a new perspective with the world: If we see the world through the innocent eyes of a child, we too could see a world without prejudices and boundaries. And through a child’s evocative and meaningful story, we showed how Ramadan and the world is a better place, if seen from the eyes of a children.

Provide the full film script in English.

The film opens up on a 9-year-old boy – our protagonist - waking up, in the dark, in a typical children’s room, turning his bedside lamp on and walking to his parents’ room. But, we notice that although the rooms are distinctively different rooms, there is no wall between them. The child jumps onto his parents’ bed and is seemingly waking them up for Suhour (the pre-dawn Ramadan meal to start the fasting day). He jumps off the bed, and with no walls or corridors around him, he runs down the stairs. The stairs suddenly change texture and build, as they lead into a room in the neighbour’s luxury home; one of the typical ostentatious homes that we see across the Middle East. He runs across that room to wake the sleeping child, urging that child to wake his own parents up. The child hesitates at first, presenting the first challenge to our protagonist. But, then is encouraged to run and wake his parents up for Suhour. Our protagonist enjoys his little moment of victory and runs across entering what looks like a tent. But, he’s suddenly in a dilapidated refugee settlement. It’s a stark contrast from his own home and the neighbour’s home that he had only just entered from. The refugee family is waking up for the pre-dawn Ramadan meal. The father, being the protective one in the family, asks the boy to leave his tent. But, the boy doesn’t. He looks around. Sees their suffering. Absorbs the environment. And then decides to share the little toy he has been carrying – a teddy bear – with the little girl in the refugee family. It’s a tender moment but it shows the innocent and open heart of a child – both the giver and the receiver. He smiles at her and runs along, continuing on his journey through a world where there are clearly no walls or borders dividing us. He enters a traditional South Asian home, where a man is preparing the morning meal, while his wife and child are getting ready for it; quite a stark contrast from the reality where women are the ones doing all the chores in the kitchen (a progressive statement from the brand). The child subtly acknowledges that, gives the man a high-five and runs across that home too. Next, he finds himself in an old people’s home. It’s a sight he isn’t used to, seeing a few old people lying down, and not really in the best of health. He notices an old woman, probably older than his own grandmother, who hasn’t woken up. He decides to wake her up with the kindness inherent to him as he gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead. She opens her eyes. She smiles. He acknowledges that. And continues to run… He abruptly stops in the next home which is even more of a shock for him. It’s an orphanage. But, not a well-kept one. It’s an orphanage in an underprivileged part of the Middle East. He sees the children, impoverished, lying in their beds. He takes time to soak in the environment. But, once he does, he’s himself again. He cheers out loud to wake the kids up and even ventures as far as waking some of them up himself. The kids gather around him as he being a slightly older kid, entertains them. He then encourages them to join him in his run through a world without walls, and they do. Now, as the children run, we cut to the parents waking up again – which is a quizzical sight to viewers. We see the time in the clock in the parents’ room. It’s 3:20 am. Time for Suhour (the pre-dawn Ramadan meal). Despite the visual differences, what’s remarkably and clearly different is that the parents’ room now is full of walls, all around them. We watch the parents wake up, head down a corridor (clearly full of walls again), open a door to their child’s room (notice how we hadn’t seen a door in the film thus far), and they come upon their son – our 9-year-old protagonist – drawing on the wall in his room. It’s a typical child’s drawing versus an expert artist’s work. The parents look puzzled at first, but don’t interrupt the boy. Then, we pan across what the boy is drawing and colouring… his home, his neighbour’s home with his friend, a refugee settlement with families, another little home, an old people’s home with a few old people with walking sticks and an orphanage room with beds and a bunch of elated children. The parents still puzzled look at each other but indulge their son as parents typically do when it comes to their children drawing and being creative. They fail to see what he sees… a world without walls. And as this twist transpires and the rug-pull happens, viewers realize that the entire film was the child’s drawing coming to life. The film ends with the message: “If we see the world through the eyes of a child, we too could see a world without walls.” It makes a statement about how children don’t see walls or divisions or hold biases or prejudices. It opens our eyes to how children see the world so clearly; the beauty and the possibility of it. And alludes to how, as adults, we’ve stopped seeing it altogether.

Credits

Name Company Role
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Mikkel Blaabjerg Poulsen Octopuss.tv Film Director
Jonas Berlin Octopuss.tv DOP
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann Dubai Regional Head of Strategy
Nima Askari FP7 McCann Dubai General Manager - Business Unit
Vicky Kriplani FP7 McCann Dubai Senior Account Director
Oliver Robinson FP7 McCann Dubai Executive Creative Director
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Karol Akl FP7 McCann Dubai Agency Producer
Darine Kanj Maalouli FP7 McCann Dubai Agency Producer
Mark Williams McCann Manchester Creative Director
Khazmin Jumain FP7 McCann Dubai Social Strategist
Brittin Lane Brittin Lane Singer
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Joe Dickinson BKP Compsoer
Costin Rantes Mitra Films & Abis Studio Producer
Tibi Hristu Mitra Films & Abis Studio Set Art Director
Brandusa Ioan Mitra Films & Abis Studio Wardrobe Stylist
Cristi Ciurea Mitra Films & Abis Studio First Assistant Director
Theodora Penciu Mitra Films & Abis Studio Editor
George Bodrug Mitra Films & Abis Studio Colourist
Loredana Moise Mitra Films & Abis Studio Post-Production Producer
Liviu Gherghe Mitra Films & Abis Studio Production Manager
Ruban Shanmugarajah Babyshop Chief Operating Officer
Deepak Mahnot Babyshop Head of Marketing
Mitin Chakraborty Babyshop Senior Marketing Manager
Dina Barakat Babyshop Marketing Manager
Ashraf Muhammedunny FP7 McCann Dubai Case Editor and Motion Artist