2022 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

This film is not your everyday festival film because AlUla is not your everyday festival site. AlUla is a magical place, where everything is happening right now. The objective of this film is to showcase it in a bold, epic way. The realism gives the film real depth and detail. But mainly, it gave us room to develop a powerful aspirational piece reflecting the essence of AlUla. The film follows a mysterious woman who finds a random piano at AlUla, she forgets about her friends and starts playing, random keys, that turn out to become a symphony. And that symphony continues across different places by different people. The woman, transitions, graphics, all move to a special rendition of Beethoven’s Für Elise. Specially recomposed to celebrate every unique emotion and sensation at AlUla. This film is a poetic symphony brought to life, worthy of a UNESCO world heritage site.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

AlUla is the gem and pride of Saudi Arabia. It’s a UNESCO heritage site. People travel from all over the world and the Kingdom to immerse in its heritage. That also means that AlUla is perceived more as a cultural destination and less as a festival destination. To activate the festival season, and cut through the local and international competition, we needed to position festivals at AlUla to be as unique as AlUla is. So, we set off to show how a festival at AlUla is not to be missed, because it is unlike any other festival. And our film made its cultural imprint: 101,208,849 Impressions 34,003,359 Views 1,436,600 Clicks 829,517 Engagements Featured on more than 1443 media channels and publications Brand Awareness increased from 54% to 66% in KSA Brand Consideration from 33% to 44% in KSA Website data proved travelers were getting more interested in the destination

Tell the jury anything relevant about the cinematography.

The director gave the film a premium, cinematic edge. We went after exquisite aesthetics, steady and smooth shots, all the while avoiding artificialness. The director was looking for naturalness and spontaneity in each shot, all within the fresh and modern mood of AlUla. The camera style was intentionally fluid with cinematically choreographed moves that evoke the giddily building tension, while lending the film an inherent musicality. Every shot is meant to feel iconic and striking. Beautifully lit and composed with purpose. All the cinematography was planned and intended to preserve authenticity in AlUla through all times of the day and night. We went after cinematography worthy of a symphony. We made sure our cinematography was rich, to marry it with the richness of the rendition of Für Elise, ultimately creating poetry in a film that unlocks motion and emotion.