Cannes Lions will host a two-day “Change for Good” Hackathon, to be held live on June 19-20 at the 65th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Together with Amazon, Huge and international advocacy platform Global Citizen, Cannes Lions will invite teams from across the globe to join forces and imagine and build solutions that will further six Global Citizen campaigns: No Poverty, Food & Hunger, Health, Education, Gender Equality, and Clean Water & Sanitation.
Philip Thomas, Ascential Events CEO and chairman-elect of Cannes Lions, commented, “Launching an initiative like this is exciting on many levels. It perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the Festival–bringing together creative experts from across our industry to innovate as a positive force for good–that’s the kind of creative magic that happens at Cannes Lions. We can’t wait to develop this with Amazon, Huge and Global Citizen.”
Cross-disciplinary teams with strong creative, strategy and technology representation are encouraged to apply to participate in the Hackathon, and contestants from all agencies, brands and regions are welcome. As an investment in the future of the festival and in the next generation of leaders, each team should include at least one member under 30 in the five-person team.
“The culture of Huge is built around enabling positive change through innovation, and we are excited to bring our proven Hackathon framework to Cannes Lions and apply our expertise, along with the talents of some of the world’s most creative teams, to advance global social good using Amazon’s powerful technologies. We are humbled by the opportunity to work with Global Citizen on their life-changing global agenda,” commented Michael Koziol, global CEO of Huge.
Of the applications received, seven teams will be chosen to compete in the first-of-its-kind Hack, with the winners announced on the Interactive Stage inside Lions Innovation (Palais II) on Wednesday, June 20.
Teams selected to participate in the Hackathon will benefit from:
- A complete Festival pass to enjoy all that the Festival has to offer;
- Hands-on mentorship from some of the world’s most prominent industry leaders and change influencers;
- Real-time expertise in creative, UX design and product development from Huge;
- On-the-ground solution architects from Amazon Web Services and Amazon Alexa will be available to make ideas a reality;
- The opportunity to work on a cause with Global Citizen;
- The winning team will have the opportunity to work with Global Citizen, Amazon Web Services, Amazon Alexa and Huge to launch and promote their solution.
- The winning team will be selected by an esteemed judging panel on the Lions Innovation Stage.
“We’re deeply involved with technical transformation and innovation at Global Citizen so it is a wonderful privilege to be working with the Cannes Lions, Huge and Amazon teams on a hackathon that help further our goals and create a positive impact on the world,” said Mark Lehmann, chief technology officer of Global Citizen. “The sky is the limit in creating empathy and change with technology!”
The full list of selected teams and the judging panel will be determined and notified on May 29. Any team wishing to apply can click here.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More