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

To reflect authority; the idea was to create two worlds that don't affect our hero. The vision was to maintain underwater and 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 throughout our shooting days. Our hero was required to take diving courses to keep movement realistic and bubbles reduced, weights were sewn into his clothes to resist buyoyancy. Camera movement and shooting techniques were studied to create seamless cross-world transitions. To protect against deflection, focus charts were used. Purifying filters and chemicals, to maintain visual. Color charts were used for art direction and wardrobe selection, to also guide us while grading. Set design required specific paint, wood material and fabrics to maintain a realistic visual. Lyrics and sound design catered to a specific tempo complementing our underwater-above-water concept.