2022 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Imagine if social media existed during the most important times of Leonardo Davinci’s career. When he was creating the Mona Lisa. Would he have been able to focus? To create without being bullied or compared? Would he have been able to lead with confidence? Would we have advanced as humans the way we did? The film shows Leonardo, while giving birth to the Mona Lisa, opens Instagram and is caught in a web of jealousy when he stumbles on Van Gogh’s latest work, that leads him to completely distort the Mona Lisa and turn it into a mimic of Van Gogh’s brush stroke. The Mona Lisa loses all its originality because it was compared to another piece found on social. This film is part of a series of 3 films, each portraying 3 historical geniuses: Leonardo, Mozart and Newton.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Social media can become a real addiction that can shut anyone’s potential down. Excessive use of social media can have very negative repercussions, such as low self-esteem and distraction, among other things. And Saudi Arabia uses social media excessively, to say the least. It ranks among the top countries in digital and social media consumption. Ithra, a Saudi-based cultural centre recognised how important it is to unlock the potential of each and every Saudi for a better tomorrow. It was time for Saudis to impact the world and Ithra wanted to remove any blocks or obstacles that were limiting their potential. So, it created a Digital Wellbeing Program - Called “Sync” - to overcome digital addiction.

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

The direction depended majorly on: 1) Recognizing the genius and the historical moment instantly. We achieved that by making sure the Mona Lisa was prominent and that the cast looked like Leonardo. We instantly established that he was in the process of painting it and we made sure to select a Van Gogh classic that is also instantly recognizable. 2) Injecting a social media element seamlessly into a vintage story. We achieved that by adding a phone that is slim but very well lit. So much light was coming out that the Van Gogh was lighting up the room. 3) Capturing the tension and change social media added. This was achieved with the cast’s expressions and also with the mutated painting. Van Gogh’s brush stroke is so prominent and unique, that having the Mona Lisa treated with it, immediately showed the fact that Leonardo tried to copy it.