Porcelain Unicorn

Our thanks to Rabbi Schwartz for bring this amazing and moving short film to our attention:

British  film director Sir Ridley Scott launched a global film making contest for aspiring directors. It's titled "Tell It Your Way". There were over 600 entries. 

The film could be no longer than three minutes, contain only 6 lines of narrative and be a compelling story. The winner was "Porcelain Unicorn" from American director Keegan Wilcox. 

It's a story of the lifetimes of two people who are totally opposite, yet, very much the same - all told in less than 3 minutes.

You can learn more about the film from its website, http://www.porcelainunicorn.com.  And on the RSA Films website, there is a news item that states

Ridley Scott announced Porcelain Unicorn from American director Keegan Wilcox as the winning short film in Philips’ Tell It Your Way film-making contest. 

The contest, which received over 600 entries from around the world, invited aspiring filmmakers to create an original short film using the same six-line dialogue as the Cannes Lions award-winning Parallel Lines short films directed by RSA talents Carl Erik Rinsch, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim. 

Commenting on his choice of winner, Sir Ridley Scott said: “I chose Porcelain Unicorn to be the winning film as it had a very strong narrative; a very complete story that was well told and executed.” 

Directed by Keegan Wilcox, it is a sensitive and moving tale of how a traumatic wartime encounter inspires a man in later life. Wilson cites his grandfather’s war stories as inspiration for the short, and the ‘hero’s journey’ of a Joseph Conrad novel. 

Keegan Wilcox commented: “I'm honored and humbled Sir Ridley Scott selected our film from five equally deserving entries. This came as a huge surprise. Being awarded the opportunity from Philips to gain valuable work experience at RSA is a privilege and a first step on the long road to a career.” 

Following a round of public voting on YouTube to select the top five, the overall winning film, Porcelain Unicorn, was chosen by Sir Ridley Scott.

Along similar lines, a New York Times article dated September 24, 2010, reports

Ridley Scott, known for directing movies like “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator,” has chosen the winner of a contest to create short films that was sponsored by Philips. 

Mr. Scott picked a film called “Porcelain Unicorn” as the winner of the Tell It Your Way contest. The name, echoing the long-time Burger King slogan, “Have it your way,” underlines the nature of the contest, which is in the genre known as consumer-generated or user-generated content. 

“Porcelain Unicorn,” which can be watched on YouTube, was the brainchild of an American director, Keegan Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox, a producer and director at ELA Advertising in California, wins prizes that include a week working at Ridley Scott Associates and the promotion of his short by Philips in venues that include a section of the Philips Web site. 

Mr. Scott selected the short from among more than 600 entries in the contest, which was inspired by online commercials for Philips, under the title “Parallel Lines,” created by the London office of DDB Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group.

Truly an award well deserved, and one that resonates with the story told via song in our previous post from last month, Mademoiselle.  Art, in so many different ways, has such power to perform the great mitzvah of memory.