2022 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Underwater. The film starts with Shahyn singing aggressively towards the camera in a living room setting. The art direction ensures that although it is shot underwater, it is a carbon copy of what a living room would look like above water. In the corner of the living room lies a motorcycle. Shahyn rides on the motorcycle and hopping on the ride acts as a transition to a bridge above the water. He rides the motorcycle to reach backstage of his live stage performance. As he removes his motorcycle headgear, we use that move to transition to a circus-like location underwater, the art direction is abstract and his outfit complements the setting. We finally transition with Shahyn grabbing the mic on stage to go above water. As he goes on with the performance he jumps in the crowd to transition to an underwater stage setting. And the film ends with him

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Egyptian rap is a growing and burgeoning scene and two names stand out: Shahyn and Abyusif. Shahyn is credited to introduce rap to Egypt, the last record being 2014, he recently announces his comeback with a track that goes viral; "Ahead of the game". He disses all the upcoming rappers, claiming he'd done it first, and singling Abyusif. As vengeance, Abyusif responds with a full-diss, with pictures of Shahyn, claims that his tracks aren't original, and ends by saying he doesn't have time for this beef because he has other tracks to work on. This was not something that went under the radar and fans went crazy. To build on this hype, since Abyusif had recently released an ad for a rival brand, we used Shahyn to diss him and the brand back; claiming our brand did this offer first, as well.

Tell the jury about the innovation and advancements used during production. You may wish to comment on the inventive use of new or existing technology to enhance the final execution.

It would typically cost EGP16M (3-4 days abroad), EGP12M (locally containers), yet we managed EGP5M (3 days locally). With limited resources and no experience; it required a lot of creativity to be able to serve the concept's objective; maintain underwater the above-water reality. Our inventiveness led us to use a pool with specific measurements to ensure pressure, cast, crew, and sets were able to produce expected outcomes. We used special purifying filters to ensure clarity and color cards guided our grading. Wardrobe selection, hidden weights, set designs, painting material, and outsourced wood were crucial to create our realistic visual for all 3 sets. Camera movement, shooting techniques were studied and rehearsed. Shahyn took diving courses and rehearsed for realistic movement and reduced bubbles. Special covers were used for cameras, speakers, and communication kits. Lightening casing was reproduced locally. Power generators were strategically located to cater to our shoot.