DRAMA | ARABIC | 104 MIN
SYNOPSIS Director Haifaa Al Mansour returns to her native Saudi Arabia with The Perfect Candidate, a tale of one woman's quest to challenge not only the system but also herself. A determined young doctor who decides to run for municipal council sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town’s first female candidate and watch her fight for social change on a local level.
Director Haifaa Al Mansour
UK/Ireland Release Modern Films UK/Ireland Release Date 27 March 2020
Release supported by the National Lottery-funded BFI Audience Award.
POSTER ARTWORK WITH INTERMISSION FILMS
THE BRIEF:
To merge Saudi Arabian cultural heritage and tradition with a more contemporary/changing
image of the Kingdom— as expressed through the lens of the director, Haifaa Al Mansour.
THE DESIGN:
To centre Maryam in three (portrait)/four (quad) images of varied colour and opacity, presenting her as a strong, confident and brave women. Dressed in both traditional and contemporary outfits, the multiple images of Maryam reinforce the film’s acknowledgement of custom and tradition whilst simultaneously advocating change.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Festival laurels and The Guardian’s “Essential Film of 2020” appear at the top of the poster, presenting
The Perfect Candidate as a critically acclaimed, contemporary and crowd pleasing film.
UK TRAILER WITH INTERMISSION FILMS
The UK trailer cut focuses on a 3-act structure; beginning with a more light-hearted/humorous side to the story, it presents the protagonist, Maryam, as a sister, doctor, daughter and candidate. The trailer then proceeds to highlight the crux of the film, delineating the troublesome restrictions Maryam faces as a woman in Saudi Arabia. The final part glimpses at the various relationships within Maryam’s story; the relationship between a father and daughter, between sisters, and a brief romantic relationship.
The trailer was launched on 11 March with UK leading independent film publisher Little White Lies. It has received 45k+ online views since.
PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL SCREENINGS
The Perfect Candidate was released theatrically in cinemas and on virtual platforms across the UK and Ireland. Third Party virtual partners included Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player.
A total of 108 bookings were made; 71 of which were physical screenings (inc. 15 pre-Lockdown and 56 cancellations during Lockdown) and 37 virtual screenings (played across 3 months as PVOD).
A variety of physical and online discussions and events— curated in collaboration with cinemas and cultural organisations— drove audience engagement and interaction with the film. Occurring physically in cinemas and live on Facebook, each of these events invited audiences to listen to the director talk with various guests and hosts, as well as giving them the opportunity to ask questions and watch the film.
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN WITH:
WAY TO BLUE
ABOUT Way To Blue are an award-winning global integrated communications agency working with consumer, lifestyle and entertainment brands. They aim to re-shape the future of brand communication through digital-led strategic brand communications.
SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
A total of 2.8M impressions were served to 2.1M unique users during the campaign period.
This campaign generated 254.2K engagements across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, with sentiment being
skewed positive within the comments. The content generated 337.5K video views, of which 120.8K (30 second/complete views) were delivered by YouTube and 216.7K by Facebook (3+ second views). This resulted in 36.5K Link Clicks through to URL destination to purchase to stream. There were 9.6K link clicks sent to BFI Player, and a further 18.0K to Curzon and 8.7K to Modern Films.
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN
Arabic speakers | Independent films | Lookalike Payfor TV & Streaming | Remarketing | Female Empowerment & Rights
READ full campaign report here.
PRESS AND PR WITH: PREMIER PR
ABOUT Premier is a dedicated creative communications agency providing marketing and PR services to the entertainment, arts and culture industries.
ADVERTISING + SOCIAL COVERAGE
The Perfect Candidate poster artwork was used in a 12-Sheet London Underground campaign, displayed across 50 tube stations. It was also advertised in a handful of select print media publications, including the BFI guide, Little White Lies magazine and the Curzon magazine.
REVIEWS + EDITORIAL
Following release, The Perfect Candidate featured in a variety of reviews and articles in online and print media publications, including: British GQ, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Time Out, Empire, Heat, Air Mail, Little White Lies, Metro, Loud & Quiet, Sight & Sound, The New Internationalist, Mark Kermode, Total Film + more.
READ full press report here.
ADVERTISING + SOCIAL COVERAGE:
BFI Guide
Curzon Magazine
London Underground Campaign
Little White Lies - Digital Advertising
REVIEWS + EDITORIALS:
GQ Magazine
The Guardian
Time Out
Sight & Sound
Empire
Financial Times
Total Film
Evening Standard
Little White Lies
Mark Kermode Review
IMPACT PR + NICHE OUTREACH WITH:
MARGARET_ LONDON
Working alongside Margaret PR, a number of grassroots organisations, cultural partners, influencers and journalists were contacted prior to and during the film’s release for both physical and virtual partnerships/collaboration. These organisations were contacted with the ultimate intention of targeting specific audiences with interest in the film’s themes and topics (e.g. Women in film, Arabic Culture, Women in medicine etc.), and therefore, driving engagement toward the film and prompting discussion around the film.
Organisations contacted include: Arab British Centre, The Mosaic Rooms (A M Qattan Foundation), Visual Fodder, Edge of Arabia, Saqi Books, Habibi Collective, Fashion in Film Festival, Sophie Mayanne, The Coven Girl Gang, Farès K Moussa, The Arts Building, Azeema magazine,Vogue Global, Aesthetica magazine, Dalia Dawood, Roisin Tapponi, Arwa Haider, London Arabia Organisation, Shubbak Festival.
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN PARTNERSHIP WITH LITTLE WHITE LIES + MARIE CLAIRE
Partnering with leading independent film publisher, Little White Lies, we worked on a full campaign for The Perfect Candidate, including; a one page ad in their magazine, an exclusive trailer launch, digital impressions and a feature interview with Haifaa Al Mansour. The campaign aimed to target LWL’s younger audience of cinephiles, art-students and readers both within the UK & Ireland and internationally, reinforcing the film’s fresh and contemporary outlook on traditional modes of practise, advocating change and new ways of thinking.
The campaign extended into a partnership between LWL’s and Girls On Tops, where exclusive ‘Haifaa Al Mansour’ t-shirts were printed and made available to purchase.
Girls On Tops (Haifaa Al Mansour - Special Edition Pattern)
LWL Home Page Ad
Marie Claire UK Social Post
Girls On Tops (Haifaa Al Mansour)
LWL Social Post
EVENTS
Ahead of and during the release of The Perfect Candidate, a variety of in-person and virtual events were held to promote and drive audience engagement towards the film. Partnering with a selection of film and cultural organisations, these events also aimed to create discourse around key themes and topics within the film, including women in film, the restrictions women face in Saudi Arabia, and thereafter, the changing contemporary face of the Kingdom.
In-person events included an International Women’s Day preview at the BFI Southbank, followed by a Q+A with director, Haifaa Al Mansour. Under new Covid-19 restrictions, online events and discussions were hosted in partnership with a variety of cultural organisations, including the Arab British Centre, Birds Eye View & Together Films, BAFTA, Curzon Home Cinema and Stay Home Watch Together.
EVENTS
ARAB BRITISH CENTRE Q+A
Journalist Malu Halasa in conversation with Haifaa Al Mansour.
STAY HOME WATCH TOGETHER
Online Q+A in partnership with Birds’ Eye View and Together Films.
CURZON LIVING ROOM Q+A
Ian Haydn Smith in conversation with Haifaa Al Mansour
BFI: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Preview and Q+A at BFI Southbank on International Women’s Day.
INDEPENDENT CINEMA SCHEME
Made available at the onset of Covid-19 and London’s March 2020 Lockdown, The Perfect Candidate instigated Modern Films’ Independent Cinema Scheme; an initiative that aims to support local and independent cinemas and cultural organisation across the UK and Ireland by mimicking the model of physical screenings and allowing audiences to purchase ‘tickets’ via their local cinemas within a virtual/online realm. All revenue from the tickets is then shared between distributor and exhibitor. Third party virtual screening partners also included BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema.
MODERN FILMS - VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM
BFI PLAYER
CURZON HOME CINEMA
VIRTUAL SCREENING SURVEY
Following the initiation of the Modern Films virtual cinema platform, we ran an online survey to gather data and gauge audience experience with the new screening model. We were particularly interested to find out that virtual cinema was already being considered a great alternative to going out during lockdown, and that there was an interest in and appreciation of the online Q&A offerings with talent and/or leading experts in fields related to the film.
Survey results indicate our audience as early adopters of the VTR/PVOD cinema model. We would like to have seen a wider and younger demographic, but we are seeing a trend in this direction as PVOD is evolving.
VIRTUAL SCREENING SURVEY: OVERVIEW + RESULTS
Overall survey results displayed an older skewing audience, including 85% over 50 years olds. 58% of the audience were female whilst the remaining 42% were male. Data indicates that 70% of those who purchased the film online lived outside of London and the remaining 30% lived in the city.
Whilst 25% of the audience watched the film to support their local cinema/as an alternative to visiting the cinema (69% were motivated to watch the film for the themes/subject and 49% for the reviews) it was evident that viewers appreciated and enjoyed the virtual cinema model and experience; 86% saying that they are likely to purchase a virtual cinema ticket in the future and 78% rating the new screening model experience as excellent or very good.
Despite the fact that more than half of the audience (58.3%) would have preferred to see the film in the cinema, it is clear that the virtual cinema model is a reliable and enjoyable alternative to visiting the cinema whilst in Lockdown— particularly for those living outside of London, retired individuals and those with limited access to cinemas/cultural venues.
