2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Singing his woes from Rikrok’s perspective, a young customer finds his bank account cleared out, after responding to a ‘Dear Customer’ email requesting account information, an email that appeared to be coming from the bank itself. The older bank manager matter-of-factly declares: "It wasn't me" and rolls off to rap, in typical Jamaican voice and diction, how hackers are always prowling on unsuspecting individuals. The lyrics blatantly list out the fundamental do’s and don’ts of online banking for the benefit of the young customer and also the viewer.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

More than half the adult population in the UAE fell victim to cyber-crime last year. The country’s strong economy and diversity of residents made it an obvious target for cyber-criminals. To complicate the situation further, the rapid rise of online shopping across the Emirates has also put many consumers in the sights of scammers. Tackling this issue was of foremost importance not just for the bank but also the national police and Government.

Tell the jury about the casting process.

The entire film hinged on the performances of our two protagonists. In our search for them we took a deliberately counter-intuitive approach. Avoiding the predictable lure of ‘cool’ and ‘hip’ we looked for ‘drab’ and ‘pedestrian’ instead. At no point did we want to create a world that seems far-fetched and fictitious; casting mundane looking leads helped ground the film in realm of reality. Having said that, we knew our cast had to pack a punch when it came time to shake a leg and that’s exactly what they did, bursting into action and taking the viewers by a storm.