Authors: Dušan Antonijević and Haris Ličina
On the second day of the festival, packed onto a small stage, we gathered to hear the brief. First, gathering and counting. Fifty-three countries from different parts of the world, present. We greet our colleagues from Bosnia, wish each other luck and record the atmosphere in the room. It is electric, and everyone is waiting for the same brief with a great deal of enthusiasm. And the following 24 sleepless hours ahead of us. Festival officials introduce us to the company behind the brief, Comic Relief, a British charity founded by comedians to use humour in the fight for a fairer world without poverty. Most countries were not familiar with the organisation itself, so they thoroughly introduce us to the organisation, its history and activities. And to the task ahead of us, which became increasingly clear as we went through the brief. “We are losing a generation aged 20–30. We need to start a movement that they can take, shape and own.” Incredibly simply and precisely phrased, it gives all of us free rein to approach it from completely different directions. That was clear to us from the very beginning.
During the briefing, we write down a lot of information, thoughts and associations as they speak. Questions fly from all sides and from all parts of the world. People scribble in notebooks and on sheets of paper, circling key words from which the final ideas will eventually emerge for many teams. The briefing itself was quite entertaining and, however difficult the task facing all 53 teams was, it was immediately clear to us that we would have fun over the next 24 hours. And that time would fly.
And it really did. Between countless coffees, moments spent catching some sun and attempts to crack the idea, the task came to us with unexpected ease. Not because we believed we were the best in the world, nor because we underestimated the task itself. Quite the opposite. We looked around us and saw more than 100 young creatives who had all earned their place at the competition. And we decided to have fun. To do something unexpected, something bold and something the two of us would be proud of. The idea came relatively early in the process, after we rejected a couple of ideas that we assumed many teams would naturally pursue. And that is exactly what happened in the end. When we saw all the work, we recognised the same ideas we had had, discussed and ultimately abandoned for that very reason. And we can say that, regardless of the result, we have no regrets.
The 24 hours themselves passed very quickly, although they were intense. A lot of caffeine, pushing to see how much further we could push the idea, writing and writing, and then more writing filled the following 24 hours. Day and night changed quickly, and we switched between the festival venue and the terrace of our accommodation. And night quickly gave way to day, although we were already quite satisfied with the idea and how the idea looked. So submitting the board itself came with a lot of enthusiasm and as one huge relief behind us. The presentation a day later also came quickly, we brought the idea to life and, even though it was not shortlisted, we still stood proudly behind it.
The presentation day passed in exchanging experiences with the other teams, encouraging one another and, finally, getting a little rest on the part of the beach the festival had not taken over. Of all those 24 hours, perhaps our biggest surprise was how the process itself passed without major challenges, stress or friction. Twenty-four hours focus you quite strongly on the task, while the focus on trying to do something slightly more unconventional made the entire process more enjoyable. Yes, there is little time. But it is also quite enough. Yes, it is difficult to fit everything we want to say into boxes of 150 words. But every challenge forced us to sharpen our thinking, to be clear, to be bold and to believe in the idea. And we will certainly take that home with us, and hopefully back to Cannes as well, whether as young lions or “just” Lions.
