CHILDREN UPROOTED

Short List
TitleCHILDREN UPROOTED
BrandUNICEF
Product/ServiceMIGRANT AND DISPLACED CHILDREN PROGRAMME
Category A06. Use of Original Music
Entrant VAYNERMEDIA London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation VAYNERMEDIA London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production STINK FILMS London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Dan Fryer dan.fryer@vaynermedia.com Associate Creative Director
Gate Lambert VaynerMedia Associate Creative Director
Lianne Rivett VaynerMedia Senior Art Director

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We open on the stage of a concert hall. In the spotlight is a young, passionate violinist, frozen in time. The camera swings past him to reveal an enrapt audience before moving on, transporting us backwards in time through the true story of this former child refugee’s life. From him teaching, to him being taught; from him learning by watching video tutorials, to him and his father hiding under the kitchen table as the Syrian war rattles his home. It’s a chaotic life, but the one constant is his passion for music. To reflect this, the epic orchestral sound of the concert is gradually stripped back, scene by scene, until we are left with only a mesmerising melody hummed by a mother to her baby. Aboud will never forget the people and organisations who helped him, or those he helped, or that when we come together, we make better worlds.

Tell the jury about the creation of the original music track.

With music being so crucial to the true story of Aboud’s life, we felt it was important to show his journey as much through sound as we did through visuals. Composer Nico Willems created a unique and emotive soundscape designed around a strong melody. The track announces Aboud’s present with an epic orchestral burst of sound in the concert hall, but as we move back in time through his tumultuous past, the music is stripped back, scene by scene. A solo practice session; a street performance influenced by Aboud’s Arabic roots; the tinny sound of an online video tutorial watched on a mobile phone; and finally, only the warm hum of a mother singing to her baby. The melody represents Aboud’s passion. It has connected him to others and driven him forward. It's powerful, it’s emotive, it draws you into the story immediately, and stays with you long after.