Imagine you’ve just had a great meal. A bowl of perfectly al dente pasta, a glass of your favourite wine that you’ve twirled and sniffed the bejesus out of. And now, you’re just digging into the gooey goodness of your dessert. You’re happy, and everything in life seems perfect.
Just then, you spot it. That small strand of hair sticking out of your dessert spoon, rudely bringing you back to reality.
How dare it? You gingerly put the spoon down and contemplate your feelings about the meal for the next 60 seconds. This damn hair has ruined a perfectly great meal, right? You gather your guts, literally, and inform the waiter. Maybe they replace the dessert, or maybe they give you a bottle of Limoncello on the house.
Regardless, you decide that since everything was near perfect, you can’t allow a strand of hair to ruin an otherwise wonderful day.
“It’s okay, it was just hair.”
“Yeah, can’t let it ruin the whole meal.”
That’s how losing at Young Lions felt—at least for us. Everything else was near perfect, so a loss also felt like a win.
You see, we had spent our time listening to the likes of Yusra Mardini, an Olympian, share her milestones with us. We got an exclusive look at the creative journey behind one of the most visually inventive films of our time, ‘Poor Things’. We were inspired by Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio from Gut when they spoke to us about bravery and buying 30 handles before even starting their journey.
We had our very own Co-founders, Gautam and PG, rally behind changing the self-image from a service industry to a commercial entertainment industry to price ourselves better, higher. Oh, and comedic hero Kenan Thompson reminded us that humour is serious business and also good for business.
These are just a few of the sessions we had the pleasure and privilege of attending alongside our colleagues who were attending Cannes on merit, not seniority.
When you’re surrounded by such greatness, not winning among 36 other nationalities is, in fact, still a lot like winning. But of course, we felt the loss. For an odd 60 seconds, we questioned and contemplated. We had just spent a grueling 24 hours trying to win.
Yep, from the time you’re given the brief, you’re also given 24 hours to think, strategize, rethink what you strategized, write, create, curse, and press send with no less than 20 seconds left on the clock.
Did we pull out our hair? Yes… hopefully not the one we found in our meal.
For everyone planning to apply next year, especially if you didn’t get in this year (it took us a few trials too), here are a few things you should know:
- You’re going to meet brilliant creative minds. Keep your portfolio QR codes handy.
- You will have 24 hours to answer a two-page brief. Read it twice; the problem statement is between the lines.
- The jury will judge your entry in isolation. Yep, for the print category, you don’t present it. (Introverts can rejoice.) So make sure the 250 odd words you get to explain your insight, idea, and execution are succinct. Be sharp and short like a needle. Swords won’t win.
- Your gut will try to betray you. Train it now and listen to it.
- You’re going to want to complicate it, add layers, and overthink. Simple is not easy. Don’t confuse the two.
- Push, push, push. You’re giving birth to an idea in 24 hours. You and your idea are the most important to each other, so love, hate, snap, console, but push together till the end.
- ‘Reaching here is a feat in itself.’ You’ll hear this a lot. Ignore it. Do it to win it.
- Expect an odd sense of patriotism. You’re representing your country; it feels different.
- Lastly, don’t let a strand of hair ruin the whole meal. Relish it.
Go back to point 1. You’re going to be in the company of brilliance. Squeeze every ounce of it and take it back home. Apply again; we promise you this only leaves the greatest aftertaste in your mouth.
