2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

The film is a recreation of the opening of the first McDonald's store in Kuwait. The film is shot in vintage 90s style: Vox pop interviews with customers, using exact memories and moments we collected from people who were at the opening. The film is meant to look like real footage that was uncovered - since no recording of the event exists, but plenty of photos and eye witness accounts do. The film captures all the iconic elements of the opening: long drive-thru queue, ecstatic customer reactions, Ronald McDonald's visit, cutting of the very 90s cake, and so on.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

One thing that kept coming up during our research, especially with millennials and generation Xers, was the actual opening day of McDonald’s. We kept hearing about how monumental the opening was, how epic and even how transformative it was for Kuwait, marking a major shift in the cultural landscape post-invasion. We kept hearing about the 7-mile long line that stretched from beginning to end of the Gulf Road and the 15,000 customers who filled the drive-thru. We also kept hearing about news crews covering the event like it was the opening of a national monument.