A Quebec City team learned earlier this week that their film “HANDS” has been Shortlisted in the 2022 Global Young Lions Film Competition. On June 15 in a live Zoom call with 500 attendees from around the world, Félix-Antoine Belleville a Copywriter with lg2, and Zacharie Turgeon a Freelance Director also working with lg2, the largest independent agency in Canada, were thrilled to learn their film was a Shortlist in the Film Competition.
Held just a few weeks before the Festival of Creativity begins, they competed against 34 of the best creative teams from around the world over the weekend of June 3-6 to film and edit a 60-second commercial answering the creative challenge posed by Global Citizen, a non-profit group whose aim is to eradicate poverty. They had 72 hours to answer the question “What is a Global Citizen?” in a film designed for Gen Z and Millennials. Their film had to inspire as many people as possible to join Global Citizen’s platform and contribute to ending extreme poverty.
“We were very proud to represent Canada on the world stage,” said Félix-Antoine. “While watching the Global Young Lions prize ceremony we quickly understood how high the creative level was and it feels good to know that we were included.”
Their first reaction to the Global Citizen challenge was that it wasn’t going to be easy. “The aim of Global Citizen to end extreme poverty is without a doubt one of the biggest concerns in the world right now,” said Zacharie. They followed the advice given to them in the lead-up to the competition from Luc Du Sault, Partner, Vice-President and Creative Director at lg2. “He told us to focus on a good and simple insight and illustrate it. We kept that philosophy throughout the process and we created a film that we’re both really proud of” continued Zacharie.
In order to compete in the Global Young Lions Competition, they first had to win The Globe and Mail’s Canadian Young Lions Film Competition, held earlier this year at the end of February.
On being crowned the best young filmmakers in Canada, Félix-Antoine said it was an incredible and humbling experience. “The creative community of Quebec City is relatively small and we had never competed against agencies from across the country before. Canada is full of talented creatives and it showed in the competition so it was a real honor to win Gold in the Canadian competition.”
As Canadian Young Lion Gold winners, Félix-Antoine and Zacharie are also traveling to Cannes this weekend to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Their Canadian Gold prize includes airfare, hotel and delegate passes to attend the 5-day festival held annually in Cannes, France.
They both agree that the Canadian and Global Competitions are both “an opportunity of a lifetime and we’re so glad we entered. We felt like everyone was behind us and it feels like The Globe and lg2 are as proud of us as we are. It’s truly been a rewarding experience.”
To learn more about The Globe and Mail’s Young Lions Competition click here.
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