BEST IN CRAFT (DIRECTION)
Chicken Lickin ‘Soulfluencer’ Music Video
7 Films | Lourens van Rensburg

Awarded by Fran Luckin

Judge’s comment on DIRECTION:
”This is so deftly handled. The way it plays into the well-worn tropes of the “USA for Africa” / “Band Aid” anthems of the mid-eighties. “Couldn’t this set-up be a little less self-congratulatory?” you think, before suddenly realizing that that is the whole point. It’s all there… the celebs glowing with virtue, air-kissing and hugging while trying to subtly outdo each other at the mike… the ‘robes on a mountaintop’ homage to ‘I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke’… the well-timed cuts from a warm, saffron-glowing South Africa to the desaturated world of abject-looking Americans (superbly cast), waiting for Chicken Licken from Africa to be their salvation. The movie doubles down with a very subtle (but unmissable) cut to a “food handout” scene and then that bit where the heavens open with blessed rain from above as the villagers rejoice.. oh wait, that’s a fire hose.
There really couldn’t be a better time for this message from us to America and the director has played it out beautifully.
How my dark little heart did cackle.”

– Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa

BEST IN CRAFT (DIRECTION)
‘The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix‘
Giant Films | Paul Ward

Awarded by Jono Hall

Judge’s comment on DIRECTION:
”Film’s power has always been the ability to make you feel something. The best visual storytelling, used for whatever purpose, crawls inside your head and heart and (forgive me) rewires the way you see and experience the world – and every single frame of this project has that power. The thing that absolutely stands out is seeing all the tools at the contemporary film-maker’s disposal used to tell the kind of story we absolutely must be telling, in the way it absolutely must be told – with skill, flair and joy.”

– Jono Hall, Director at Gentlemen Films

CRAFT MENTION (CINEMATOGRAPHY)
Chicken Lickin ‘Soulfluencer’ Music Video
7 Films | Lourens van Rensburg

Awarded by Fran Luckin

Judge’s comment on CINEMATOGRAPHY:
”I love how cinematography has been used to tell the story. The warm, rich, saturated world of South Africa in contrast with the cool desaturated frames for America.  But within that every frame is equally beautifully composed. There’s also something full and glossy about the faces in the South African scenes, compared to the pinched pale faces of the Americans (yeah, even the fat guy).
(This latter point is probably a thing about lensing, but alas, I am a humble copywriter and don’t know the right words for it and don’t want to sound like a poephol. I’ll see myself out.)”

– Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa

CRAFT MENTION (ONLINE VFX)
‘The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix‘
Accenture Song CGI Studio Hamburg & Chocolate Tribe

Awarded by Fran Luckin & Jono Hall

Judge’s comment on ONLINE VFX:
”I’m not a VFX expert (see “poephol”, above) but I’m going to come at this as the person being entertained and say I like that I knew I was in a fantasy world and yet I believed what my eyes were seeing. The VFX is essential to the story, which I love. By bringing the kids’ inner worlds to life so vividly in gaming imagery, it added grandeur and drama to the story, particularly in the climax of the race. As a side note, I did notice the colour splitting in a lot of the scenes and when I looked it up (because I didn’t know what it was called) I discovered it’s often used in game design to make the graphics of the game less clinical and clean. Assuming it was a deliberate choice to help visually bridge the worlds between the fantasy and the everyday, that’s a nice subtle touch.”

– Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa

Judge’s comment on ONLINE VFX:
”It’s an odd experience to go on a journey with the use of VFX in a project like this, but that’s what happened. At first I wasn’t really sold on why they were being used at all? But by the end of the story, not only did I absolutely get it, I was totally locked into what they were achieving for the story. It’s not a case of VFX for VFX’s sake, but a delightful way to bring to life the way the kids see these cars and for the audience to understand the scale and individual beats of the race itself.”

– Jono Hall, Director at Gentlemen Films

CRAFT MENTION (MUSIC SUPERVISION & ORIGINAL MUSIC)
‘The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix‘
Pressure Cooker Studios | James Matthes

Awarded by Fran Luckin & Jono Hall

Judge’s comment on MUSIC SUPERVISION & ORIGINAL MUSIC:
”I loved how the music captured longing and hope, and felt like it was native to the place the film came from. It was wistful but also profoundly uplifting. There were a whole lot of predictable music choices available here, no doubt. I like that they were resisted.”  

– Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa

Judge’s comment on MUSIC SUPERVISION & ORIGINAL MUSIC:
”Like a good wirecar itself, the use of music in this film feels superbly balanced. It pushes where it needs to, sits back when it should, and punches out when the story needs it – never overwhelming the narrative or the characters. It’s a wonderfully skilful demonstration of how music elevates a story without dominating it.”  

– Jono Hall, Director at Gentlemen Films

CRAFT MENTION (EDITING)
‘The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix‘
Emily Bussac, Matthew Swanepoel, Xander van der Westhuizen (Entered by Giant Films)

Awarded by Jono Hall

Judge’s comment on EDITING:
”Keeping the characters distinct from one another, keeping each thread alive and unique, building the anticipation of the race, and even the thrill of the race itself – all while never taking the audience’s eye away from the texture, character and sense of Philipstown itself? All a remarkable feat by the editing team. Bravo.”

– Jono Hall, Director at Gentlemen Films