2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

As part of the gulf ministries of health crackdown on profiteering unlicensed alternative medicine practitioners in the region, this music video portrays the reality of those con artist and their victims in a way that speaks to the target audience (typically poor to middle-class, uneducated, older segments of gulf societies) with lyrics written in their own dialects, using a hyper-local melody (لحن) that is part of their cultural heritage. We see a typical swindler in their natural habitat, surrounded by their victims, engaging in all sorts of pseudo-scientific cures and medical procedures from the perspective of a young man who’s taking his father to what he realizes towards the end of the film is nothing but a scam.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

While alternative medicine is a certified branch of medicine in certain countries, it has a cult following in the gulf region, given its close proximity to Islamic teachings pertaining to cures and medicine (Prophetic Medicine). This, coupled with lack of education in various segments of society, has given rise to scam artists that pose as certified practitioners of alternative medicine, charging their victims thousands of dollars under the guise of religion and alternative medicine. Salamatak, an almost 40-year-old brand, has always been very vocal about such practices and anything that threatens the physical, mental, and psychological well-being of Gulf citizens, and as part of its stand against this issue, this film was created.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction. Do not name the director.

The director uses various techniques to appeal to the target audience and their younger relatives, such as the use of a well-known Khaleji tune, lyrics written in a local dialect that connects with the older band of the target audience, as well as the use of the Bolt High Speed camera to juxtapose the style of Kendrick Lamar and the cultural and local visuals, music, and lyrics to encapsulate the new young feel of the revival of this 40-year-old brand. Additionally, the director used the boomerang technique to appeal to the young audience, and to also show the futility of this vicious cycle of the victims visiting those scam artists, paying them everything they have, only to come back to them later on for cures to the ailments they cause them.