#epica2015

The Film grand prix by Watts of Tokyo for Shiseido proves that anyone can be pretty with the right make-up (watch out – spoilers ahead!). It opens with a classroom full of pretty girls and then spools back in time to reveal that they are actually boys, magically transformed by the power of Shiseido products. The film’s twist delivers a surprise the first time around, and repays repeated viewing with its layers of detail and superb direction.

Masato Kosukegawa, Creative Director, Shiseido said: “It is a great honor for all of our team to have been selected  as the Film Grrand Prix for Epica 2015 and we are sincerely grateful for the recognition from the jury. We especially appreciate the director, Show Yanagisawa and the director of photography, Jin Ohashi and also the school “girls” who showed their great patience to strike a pose and stand-still while we were shooting for 7 hours.  Thanks also to our make-up artists who showed their special abilities, we hope that many who watched will feel the happiness through the basic concept of the film : the power of make-up.” 

Jury president Olivier de Montchenu commented: “This is an incredibly powerful idea, extremely well executed – it’s almost a short feature film. The way it plays with notions of gender is both topical and striking.” 

The UK was top in the country rankings with 51 awards, followed by France, the USA, Turkey, Sweden and then Germany. Other top non-European performers were Canada, Japan and Australia.