Our Managing Director Thom has just got back from an eventful trip to Cannes where we were awarded the Grand Prix, the coveted White Dolphin for best film at Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2024, for Waiting List, a Nowadays Original written and directed by Phoebe Brooks.

Well, what a trip that turned out to be!

Touching down in an extremely wet and moody Nice a few days ago, we had no idea quite how big an evening we were in for. We’d flown down for the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards, otherwise known as The Dolphins, named after the staggeringly weighty, impressively shiny trophies that they hand out to the great and the good of the corporate film and TV making world.

Over the past decade or so we’ve been up for Dolphins several times, and we’ve been lucky enough to win quite a few - for Best Branded Content and Best Corporate Image films among others - but this year was a bit of a special one.

This year our film Waiting List was nominated and awarded gold in the Best Fundraising/Non-Profit category, an amazing achievement in and of itself (check out some of the brilliant films we were up against - stunning films about important subjects, like floating hospitals in Indonesia and isolation in the deaf communities of China). 

But it turns out that wasn’t the end of the story. Just as the ceremony was drawing to a close, as the fatigue from clapping so much incredible work was beginning to settle in, we were equal parts stunned and delighted to be called to the stage once more.

Out of nearly 800 entries into the awards this year, Waiting List had been selected for the Grand Prix, the White Dolphin, which according to the blurb - “honors the most outstanding production in the categories of “Corporate Media” and “Documentaries”.”

It was quite a moment.

And then we had to give a little speech and I’m going to try to replicate a little of what we said there, here (and my memory is definitely a little hazy so bear with me) is the gist of it:

We love this film, and not just because it is a brilliant bit of filmmaking in its own right.

It’s an important film for us because it shows what can be achieved when you trust your teams, the filmmakers you sit amongst every day, to tell the stories they really want to tell. This film simply wouldn’t have happened without the talent and perseverance of Phoebe Brooks, who not only wrote and directed it, but who really took the time to sell us on the idea in the first place.

Making passion projects is no walk in the park, there were plenty of challenges, arguments, pushes and pulls throughout the process, and the team had to give up a massive amount of their free time, sweating every detail along the way. But Phoebe did such a phenomenal job of convincing us all that this story needed to be told, of making everyone feel personally invested, there was never much question that we would make it happen one way or another.

So when your teams show you that they’re really ready to go to bat to make a film happen, you should try to meet that passion with trust and backing where you can.

I think it was something like that. Probably not quite so coherent, probably with a good deal of umming, erring and stuttering in there. But that was what was swirling around in my head at least.

It was so lovely to be present at the show - it was honestly a little overwhelming how many fellow filmmakers, production companies, agencies and even clients, had taken the time to watch the film ahead of time, and who came up to say nice things about it on the night.

And yes, there is definitely an irony that the best-in-show award, at a ceremony celebrating the world’s finest corporate films, was awarded to a project that was self-initiated, self-funded and, in the end, gifted to a charity client. There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere. Probably.

And so, onto a big list of thanks. Thanks to everyone who worked on the film: everyone in-house who gave up their evenings and weekends, especially Phoebe, Jenny Garrett, Charlie Maxwell and Ben Harding. Thanks to the crew - there’s too many to list here but I’m told their unwavering commitment to the cause made the shoot a special place to be. Thanks to Director of Photography Charles Mori, who has made two Nowadays Originals look absolutely outstanding now. Thanks to the brilliant cast who deservedly garner so much praise from audiences who’ve seen it, especially our lead Mary Malone, who’s undoubtedly destined for very great things. Thanks to Karol Cybulski at CHEAT and Matt Valentine for making it look and sound even better in post. And thanks to Cannes Corporate Awards, for celebrating the film and having us along to their wonderful event.