2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

The film showcases the lavish lifestyle of a man who has grown terribly rich during the pandemic very easily. He has actually written a best-selling book HOW TO GROW RICH DURING THE PANDEMIC. He considers himself to be an artist though, not just a writer. He is a multitalented guy who is a banker one day, and the founder of a charity the next. He talks to us about his inspirations in life, his beliefs and philosophy. He even develops his own vaccine and sells it for just $500 a pop. Driven by ego and led by greed, he believes his book will help his fans prosper easily during any pandemic, but before he could taste literary success, the police nab him for online fraud.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

The UAE didn’t just face the Covid-19 pandemic, it also grappled with a cyber pandemic at the same time. Online phishing attacks increased by a whopping 250% in the UAE during the pandemic with 600,000 attacks reported in Q2 alone. Fraudsters preyed on the confusion, doubt and fear among people and posed as banks, airlines offering flight refunds, hospitals looking for extra staff, charities, vendors and suppliers, and more to steal people’s bank account and personal details. As the leading bank in the region, Emirates NBD decided to take a stand against phishing for not just banks, but every single industry affected by it in the UAE and across the world. How To Grow Rich During The Pandemic aims to not only entertain but educate people about online fraud and how to protect themselves against it.

Tell the jury about achievements of the production, including reference to its specific ambitions and challenges. You may wish to comment on scale of production, budget constraints, technical issues and/or challenges faced during the production process.

From a ZERO budget initiative, to USD 20K initial production budget it's a proof that even during financial crises the topic was too important to miss and the idea too strong to ignore. People got inspired by the story, which grew on the telling and more money was needed for a 2-day shoot. After the production house, the director and the DOP waived off their second-day fee, we secured the budget of USD 128,000. With no direct flights from Dubai to Istanbul, the agency team got stuck at Cairo airport and had to go back and attended the shoot remotely. The director flew in from Finland and the main cast from London, which got swapped by the driver for a strange man. He made it afterall. Amid new lockdown regulations, a protective bubble of more than 50 people was kept intact for 48 hours straight at the shooting.