How we captured the story of Dubai in a personal short film that went viral.
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THE UN-BRIEF:
As a Dubai-kid, snac Co-Founder Gaya set out to make a nostalgic homage to her hometown and how it holds the key to the stories & memories of millions who built a life within its borders.

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snac pack
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1.  CONCEPT + CREATIVE DIRECTION
2. SCRIPT + VOICE OVER
3. CASTING
4. DIRECTION
5. CINEMTOGRAPHY
6. EDIT + COLOUR GRADE
7. ORIGINAL MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN</sup>

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The Process:

The idea started from the spoken word piece written by Gaya which was then set to an original score by Reiner Erlings. D.O.P Bechara El-Khoury came on board to bring to life Gaya’s storyboard. Gaya cast her friend & fellow Dubai kid Alistair Vowels & her sister Maya Krishnan to play the main characters in the film. The locations featured are basically a series of spaces that were part of Gaya’s childhood and places she frequented with her friends and family.

Gaya’s Notes:

“This piece is extremely personal and became a turning point for me as a visual artist. The making process was deeply enjoyable because we all came together to create this film just for the love of it and for some of us, for the love of the city."

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What we achieved:

- A viral film that garnered an unexpected outpouring of love and positivity and over 100k views in a day leading to
- DXB Tourism & Cultural Authorities adopting the film into ongoing marketing content campaigns for the city at that time.
- People of the city writing into iconic national radio station Dubai 92 FM asking for the makers to be interviewed & featured on air.

- Features in all the major National newspapers about the film going viral and how the film became an emblem for the large expat population of the city.

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Takeaway:
PERSONAL IS UNIVERSAL.

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