2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

There’s a magical feeling when you’re in charge. When you have the total freedom to do what you please. So we captured this sentiment. Opening on grand castles, we follow dictators through medieval castles, banquet halls in the Dark Ages, early Asian palaces and Ancient Egyptian kingdoms. We see them command halls, speak to the masses and make orders about the most mundane things – playing with the cat, chilling in their underwear or just doing absolutely nothing. In a quick snap back to reality we see that all these people aren’t actually kings and queens, they just feel that way when they have total control over their space.

Tell the jury about the casting process.

Cast and character performance would make or break this film. So, we put a lot of thought into this. The characters needed to feel as if they were from different eras and parts of the world while still fitting together seamlessly. Physically, we needed to believe they were real kings and queens, but they needed to be relatable enough to see a little bit of ourselves in each of them. Their delivery of each line needed to be exaggerated, but believable. Overall, our film needed an international feel, so we cast a variety of characters with different ethnicities and backgrounds.