Warner Bros, ‘Barbie’, ‘Aftersun’ lead winners at The Big Screen Awards 2023

Warner Bros, Barbie, Aftersun and Mubi led the winners at The Big Screen Awards 2023, which took place tonight (November 23) at The Brewery in London.

The awards, rebranded from the Screen Awards last year, recognise the achievements of marketing, distribution, publicity and exhibition teams and companies for their work releasing films into UK cinemas and connecting them with audiences. They were hosted by comedian, actor and writer Ellie Taylor.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Warner Bros won four major awards for Barbie: blockbuster of the year; PR campaign of the year (studio release); theatrical campaign of the year – studio/saturation (500 cinemas and over); and big screen event of the year (premieres) for its Barbie’s Best Day Ever! screening.

Praising the studios’ work on the film, which has grossed $118.3m so far in the UK-Ireland, our judges said the theatrical campaign “will be remembered in cinematic history” and had succeeded in its goal to “paint the town pink”.

It was also a strong year for Mubi, described as “an exciting and disruptive force in UK cinema” by one judge. The company won the prestigious distributor of the year – Independent award; theatrical campaign of the year – independent/specialty/mid-range release for Aftersun; international feature film campaign of the year for Decision To Leave; and the industry rising star award for the company’s UK theatrical sales manager, Emma Farrugia.

Aftersun, which made £2m at the UK-Ireland box office, also swept the breakthrough British actor and filmmaker prizes, with young star Frankie Corio on hand to collect her award at the ceremony and director Charlotte Wells sending a video acceptance.

Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane, released in the UK by Disney, won the best British film award, voted for in an online poll by readers from a shortlist selected by Screen International’s senior editors.

PR campaign of the year (independent release) went to Vertigo Releasing and Jon Rushton’s “super-impressive work” on How To Blow Up A Pipeline.

The newly introduced team of year category was won by Organic’s UK film team, which worked on the likes of Barbie, Oppenheimer and Aftersun. The company also scooped the diversity and initiative award for its Origins programme targeted at bringing underrepresented young people into the industry.

Universal Pictures Content Group won documentary film campaign of the year for Moonage Daydream, with Seventh Art Productions taking the event cinema campaign award for Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition.

Brand partnership of the year was awarded to The Walt Disney Company after they teamed with NHS Blood And Transplant (NHSBT) for the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with the campaign aimed at diversifying the UK’s blood donor base.

We Are Parable collected the big screen event of the year (festivals/seasons/single-night events) award for their BFI Imax screening of The Woman King.

The always competitive poster design and trailer of the year prizes were won by The Posterhouse and Lionsgate for Triangle Of Sadness and Living, respectively.

Exhibition winners

On the exhibition side, Greenwich Picturehouse won the cinema of the year (25 screens or over) award, with the Highland Cinema in Fort William winning the 24 screens or under equivalent.

Cinema marketing campaign of the year was awarded to Cineworld’s My Way of Water campaign, tied in with the release of Avatar: The Way Of Water.

Finally, the Green Screen award went to the Exeter Phoenix, with the venue featuring the southwest’s first solar-powered cinemas.

As previously announced, Film4 was honoured with the special recognition award for outstanding contribution to UK film, which was presented by Screen editor Matt Mueller and collected by chair Daniel Battsek and director Ollie Madden.

The award recognises the achievements of a company or individual whose contributions to UK film have had a significant impact on the reputation of the industry, both locally and internationally.

The awards were sponsored by Eikon and Powster with support from UKCA

Best British film

Rye Lane

It’s been quite a year for director and 2021 Screen Star of Tomorrow Raine Allen-Miller and her debut feature Rye Lane. Premiering at Sundance in January, this South London-set drama about two young people (played by David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah) making a connection while attempting to deal with heartbreak, the film played various festivals before being released in the UK in March via Disney and internationally via streaming platforms including Disney+ and Hulu.

Written by Nathan Byron and Tom Melia, the film was produced by Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo and Damian Jones and supported by BBC Film, the British Film Institute and Searchlight Pictures. Having taken an impressive £1.2m at the UK box office, it has been nominated for 16 Bifa awards including best screenplay, best director and best British independent film.

Big Screen event of the year (premieres)

Barbie’s Best Day Ever!, Warner Bros

Released in July 2023, Barbie has become a record-breaking global blockbuster that has taken $1.5bn worldwide, with $115m of that coming from the UK — the biggest market for the film outside of the US.

Working with publicity agencies DDA, Organic and Premier, Warner Bros conceived the UK-specific ‘Barbie’s Best Day Ever!’ event held on July 12, the day of Barbie’s London premiere. The film took over London with a host of city-wide activities including: the ‘Barbification’ of everything from iconic buildings to telephone boxes; the first ever pink Doctor Who Tardis appearing on the banks of Tower Bridge in partnership with the BBC; events including an MTV TikTok Live Q&A and a ‘Barbiecore’ fashion show with This Morning; and the drafting in of over 200 influencers and tastemakers.

Our judges felt that Warner Bros “utilised the city to define Barbie as a cultural event media moment [which] significantly expanded the impact of a film premiere with innovative thinking and consumer impact.”

Big Screen event of the year (festival/season/single-night event)

The Woman King BFI Imax screening, We Are Parable 

An independent organisation dedicated to supporting and celebrating Black film and Black filmmakers, We Are Parable did both with their special BFI Imax screening of the Viola Davis-starring The Woman King, which took place on September 28, 2022 before touring UK cities.

Ahead of the sold-out 500-person London screening, which was organised in collaboration with the film’s distributor Entertainment One, AkomaAsa Performing Arts Academy provided music and movement in the foyer and on-screen, and the film’s stars Lashana Lynch and Sheila Atim made a special Q&A appearance.

Add in a specially commissioned spoken-word performance from Poetic Unity’s Aicha Therese, and our judges agreed that it was an “impressive and thoughtful” night which “targeted the [film’s] key audience with something very special.” In addition, the judges were also impressed that the event “was an absolute demonstration of [We Are Parable’s] mission to bring epic Black stories to a wanting audience.”

Blockbuster of the year

Barbie, Warner Bros

The 2023 cinematic landscape has been dominated by this diminutive doll who, in the hands of director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie, has romped to a global haul of almost $1.5bn at the time of writing.

Warner Bros worked hard to generate Barbie fever well before the film’s release on July 21, kicking off a massive marketing campaign that took in everything from myriad partnerships with brands including Xbox, Balmain and Gap; a real-life Barbie’s Dreamhouse in Malibu bookable through Airbnb; and an incredible 3D advertisement which saw a giant Barbie stepping out of her box in Dubai.

There was, of course, also the friendly rivalry with Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer, with the ‘Barbenheimer’ effect helping Barbie to a record-breaking performance. Not only is it the UK’s highest-grossing film of the year with the biggest opening weekend box office, it is also the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros’ history and the highest-grossing live-action film from a female director.

Brand partnership of the year 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever & NHS Blood and Transplant, The Walt Disney Company 

The Walt Disney Company impressed our judges by teaming with NHS Blood And Transplant (NHSBT) for a third time (following partnerships surrounding Free Guy and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness) for a campaign that more than met the objectives of both parties.

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever launching in cinemas on November 11, 2022 — immediately after Sickle Cell Awareness month (September) and Black History Month (October) — and NHSBT activating Black Heritage targeted marketing to help diversify their blood donor base, a campaign was conceived to play on the Wakandan ethos of unity and strength. The 11-week “Not Family But Blood’ campaign resulted in 55,742 new donor registrations, of which 3,952 were from Black heritage groups.

“A strong thematic connection to the film combined with broad consumer impact and social good make this a sterling example of partner marketing at its best,” noted one judge. 

Breakthrough British actor 

Frankie Corio, Aftersun 

Charlotte Wells’s Bafta-winning debut feature Aftersun has been one of the major talking points of the year, largely for the performances of stars Paul Mescal and then 12-year-old Scottish newcomer Frankie Corio. 

Playing the daughter of Mescal’s troubled young father, on holiday together in 1990s Turkey, Corio brings a vibrancy and vulnerability to a challenging role which resulted in a host of award nominations, including two from Bifa, and wins including young British/Irish performer of the year from the London Critics’ Circle.

It is an impressive turn, particularly from a young actor who had never performed before, and who got the role after her mother responded to a casting call. Now signed with WME in the US, Corio will next be seen alongside Sam Claflin in horror The Bagman for director Colm McCarthy (The Girl With All The Gifts).

Breakthrough British filmmaker

Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

From the moment it premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2022, where it began its extensive global festival run, Aftersun captured attention. Charlotte Wells’s intimate, semi-autobiographical tale of a struggling father and his young daughter on holiday in Turkey in the 1990s is a powerful human drama, anchored by masterful performances from newcomer Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal, the latter receiving an Oscar nomination to add to the film’s myriad other plaudits including a Bafta for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.

An impressive achievement for any director, let alone one making their debut feature. And audiences agreed. The BBC Film, BFI and Screen Scotland-supported picture has taken a solid $8.4m worldwide — nearly £2m of that at the UK box office , making it one of the most successful British feature debuts of all time.

One judge said: “Very accomplished work for a first feature, and a terrific film that clearly hit a note with audiences.” 

Cinema marketing campaign of the year 

My Way of Water, Cineworld

To tie in with the release of James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar: The Way Of Water in December 2022, Cineworld devised a campaign to encourage audiences to experience the film in a premium format: Imax 3D, 4DX and ScreenX. Olympic swimmers Matt Richard and Alice Dearing were drafted in for a campaign video which showed them immersing themselves in these big-screen experiences, acting as regional brand ambassadors, posting content with a dedicated hashtag and filming a TikTok which generated 10 million views.

The campaign resulted in an increase in occupancy of 8% for Imax screens, 23% for 4DX and 2% for ScreenX, and helped Cineworld become the number-one UK-Ireland cinema chain showing the film for the entire 10 weeks of release, with a 28% market share. “Brilliant use of an integrated media, influencer and PR strategy that is innovative and effective in reaching a target audience,” said one judge. “The use of the two Olympians was inspired.”

Cinema of the year (24 screens or under)

Highland Cinema, Fort William
Highly commended: The Living Room Cinema, Liphook

Opened by local entrepreneur Angus MacDonald in September 2020 during Covid, the Highland Cinema has overcome pandemic challenges to create a thriving local community hub. The first cinema to open in Fort William, in the western Scottish Highlands, for 15 years, the two-screen cinema attracted over 37,000 patrons during the Big Screen Awards eligibility window — the 12 months from September 2022 to September 2023 — up 30% on the previous year.

Run by a small local team and showing a mix of Hollywood blockbusters, event cinema, independent films and local Scottish fare, the cinema also attracts audiences with an on-site café bar, in-house film club, weekly quiz, regular newsletter, talks and events. It is also accessible to all, with dedicated wheelchair seating and subtitled films showing all day each Monday.

One of the judges commented: “A very impressive site which stands out for its local initiatives. In particular I like the concept of using the ad reel to promote local businesses and using local suppliers. I think the cinema is going above and beyond to make it a community hub, and it’s a place I’d very much like to visit!”

The judges were also impressed by The Living Room Cinema in Liphook, on the border of Hampshire and Surrey. Ever since the single-screen cinema opened in April 2022 it has welcomed almost 40,000 visitors, who attend for screenings of new and archive films, talks and events.

Cinema of the year (25 screens or over) 

Greenwich Picturehouse, London

Serving the local community since 2005, when it replaced the Greenwich Cinema which closed in 2002, the five-screen Greenwich Picturehouse continues to go from strength to strength despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Key to this is their focus on accessibility. Alongside the minimum of two subtitled screenings they show each day, the cinema is accredited in Greenwich Council’s Dementia Inclusive Greenwich scheme, with staff undergoing training to ensure that the venue is welcoming and supportive for those living with dementia.

Additionally, the cinema runs dog-friendly and baby and toddler screenings and has special student and under-25 ticket options. This, together with a diverse screening programme — which, in July 2023 included the 1996 coming-of age classic Beautiful Thing as part of the London Rainbow Plaque scheme dedicated to significant moments in the city’s LGBTQ+ history — has led to over 152,000 ticket sales in the past year.

“They have broadened their offering to engage a wider catchment and diversify their audience beyond the local Greenwich community. Their commitment to accessibility is also impressive,” said one judge. Another added: “The staff are clearly great, interested and involved — very engaged with film and the venue itself.”

Distributor of the year (Independent)

Mubi

“An exciting and disruptive force in UK cinema,” as described by one judge, Mubi has enjoyed a hugely successful year with a slate including British favourite Aftersun, which achieved a UK box office of nearly £2m, along with international festival favourites such as Passages, Holy Spider, Fallen Leaves and Return To Seoul.

Our judges were impressed by the company’s blend of grassroots campaigns and national partnerships — such as with MilkTea, which enabled them to successfully reach ESEA audiences for Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave — and initiatives such as MUBI Go, which offers subscribers a cinema ticket each week.

“Their exquisite taste in cinema is backed up by a furiously talented team,” noted one judge, with another observing that “Mubi’s longer-term ambitions feel like it’s growing cinema audiences in ways that are not limited to individual release titles.”

Diversity and inclusion initiative 

Origins, Organic

While there are many talent development programmes for filmmakers and craftspeople, the same cannot be said for the film and TV PR sector. Origins by Organic was developed to fill this gap, creating an access point into, and pathway through, the industry through a bespoke six-month paid placement at an agency.

Particularly targeted at underrepresented young people, the initiative worked with educators, organisations such as Creative Access and the BFI, and a network of industry experts. Out of 150 applicants, five received a place on the programme running from January to July 2023, and worked on some of the biggest film and TV releases of the year including Barbie, Rye Lane and The Full Monty. 

Since then, three of the cohorts are continuing their careers at Organic, a fourth was offered a one-year internship at a film studio and the fifth was awarded a placement at a junket production company. Our judges were impressed by the “deep impact” of this scheme and the “commitment to diversity the film and TV PR industry and ensure long careers for new entrants”.

Documentary film campaign of the year 

Moonage Daydream, Universal Pictures Content Group

The UK’s second-largest-grossing documentary release since 2018, with a gross just shy of £1.7m, Universal Pictures Content Group’s Moonage Daydream campaign took a 360-degree approach to attracting audiences.

It remained faithful to David Bowie’s fans by engaging with the musician’s estate, label, friends and collaborators to endorse the film, helping to generate authentic word of mouth. From the Cannes launch to its BFI Imax premiere, which included a Tate Modern afterparty attended by stars, these high-profile screenings helped spread the message to broader audiences that the film was a truly cinematic experience.

Further promotions included an NME homepage takeover, Spotify audio ads and VoD targeting music fans and cinephiles — topping it off with a placement on King’s Cross’ brand new digital outdoor activation which used cutting-edge anamorphic and AR technology.

One judge praised the campaign for tapping into “multigenerational interest from audiences”, concluding that this campaign “wins hands down”.

Event cinema campaign of the year 

The Greatest Exhibition, Seventh Art Productions 

 “This set a new bar for art exhibitions in cinema,” said one judge of the Johannes Vermeer exhibition film which has grossed nearly £1.3m since its release in April — the highest of any exhibition alternative content.

Marketed as a “VIP experience” of the sold-out Rijksmuseum exhibition, the film racked up such demand prior to its release that what started as 188 sites had increased to 402 by the end of July.

Judges noted how the campaign “thought of everything” from finding new audiences through TikTok, where videos amassed nearly 1 million views, to opening Green Man festival in August. One notable highlight of its social media campaign was a photo of a recreation of Vermeer’s painting ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring’ made from vegetables which attracted significant online attention.

Judges were hopeful the campaign would inspire others “to think outside of the box with respect to how we utilise our cinemas in the post-pandemic period”. 

Green Screen award 

Exeter Phoenix 

Home to independent cinema Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix impressed the judges with its “comprehensive, strategic and long-term commitment” to sustainability, with the organisation dedicating significant resource to de-carbonising its activities since 2015.

The multi-arts centre has installed 94 solar panels to date, including the South West’s first solar-powered cinemas, reducing its energy consumption by 10% year-on-year. Judges cited Exeter Phoenix’s “real passion” to the cause, from a specially designated Green Champion position to thorough and regular research on improving sustainability, all of which has helped contribute to the organisation’s lowest year for gas consumption on record in 2021-22.

The cinema also regularly hosts environmental-themed seasons including a World Earth Day screening of The Felling, a Food on Film season, the UK Green Film Festival and outdoor pursuits programmes. 

Industry rising star award 

Emma Farrugia, Mubi 

From her humble beginnings as a front-of-house member at Cineworld Brighton in 2017 to her current role as Mubi’s UK theatrical sales manager, judges noted how Farrugia “seems to have made the most of every role and circumstance in which she’s found herself”.

Before joining Mubi, Farrugia worked her way up the ranks at Cineworld to become an Unlimited Ambassador for Brighton. Here, she regularly dressed up the foyer in line with popular releases at the time and even organised live performances.

Not long after joining Mubi in 2021 as a distribution assistant, she was promoted to theatrical sales executive where some of the highlights of her role have included taking the lead on bookings for Petite Maman, Close and Aftersun.

Judges were particularly impressed with how quickly Farrugia has made relationships in the “somewhat insular distribution community”, commenting on how this “speaks to her potential for broader influence and leadership”.

International feature film campaign of the year 

Decision To Leave, Mubi 

One of the few foreign-language features to break £1m at the UK box office post-pandemic, Decision To Leave cultivated a “stylish campaign that captured the intrigue and cinematic verve of movie-making of the highest order”, in the words of one of our judges.

After a teaser trailer played in venues throughout summer 2022 (following the film’s premiere in Competition at Cannes Film Festival — where Park Chan-wook was awarded best director), Mubi offered a wide preview of the film at BFI London Film Festival in October which included a recorded Q&A. Ticket sales for the event were pushed through P&A to ensure sold-out screenings and generate demand for the film’s regular previews just ahead of the release.

As well as the prolonged previews, in another unusual move for an independent title the film was released on a Monday to give a clear run ahead of The Banshees Of Inisherin’s opening and the start of the October half-term holiday. The risks proved fruitful at the box office and judges were impressed by the outcome.

“A brilliant result — hats off to them and long live cinema!”, enthused one judge.

Poster design of the year 

Triangle Of Sadness, The Posterhouse

A luxury yacht embroiled in flames floats inside a broken martini glass on the award-winning poster for Ruben Östlund’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness, perfectly encapsulating the film’s themes.

The brief, according to its creators at The Posterhouse, was to create a standout, imaginative poster that contrasted the affluent lifestyle of the characters with the disaster that confronts them on board the luxury liner, while also expressing the film’s dark comedy and quirkier elements and selling the film as both arthouse and commercial.

Our judges were impressed with the “sleek design” of the poster that “played into the film’s themes but still created mystery and allure”.

PR campaign of the year (studio release) 

Barbie, Warner Bros
Highly commended: Rye Lane, Searchlight Pictures Distribution, Organic & Vamp

It is no secret that Warner Bros pulled off one of the most extravagant PR campaigns of recent times with Barbie becoming a national talking point in and of itself. It combined traditional marketing tools with headline-grabbing stunts such as ‘Barbie’s Best Day Ever!’ complete with London’s iconic landmarks all lit up in pink.

The pink didn’t stop there, however, with a pink carpet premiere attended by a host of celebrities and plenty of themed screenings for influencers and other special guests. The campaign set out to “sell a phenomenon, not just a film” and even inspired a ‘Barbie-can’ tube station, Heinz’s pink ketchup and a video of Matt Hancock singing ‘I’m Just Ken’.

“Barbie created a huge cultural moment and the kind of cut-through that all other campaigns can only dream of,” said one judge. “The way the team rolled out this campaign, achieving saturation while still managing to keep the film feeling ‘cool’, was an absolute masterclass.”

Searchlight’s Rye Lane was highly commended for its “wonderful campaign” which engaged with the local communities from a takeover of the iconic Peckhamplex for its premiere to a Rye Lane-themed Community Day at the Ritzy in Brixton featuring live music and pop-ups.

PR campaign of the year (independent/speciality release) 

How To Blow Up A Pipeline, Vertigo Releasing & Jon Rushton 

A thriller about a group of climate protestors attempting to sabotage an oil pipeline is not the easiest sell but, as judges pointed out, the campaign harnessed the polarised themes with “responsible sensitivity”.

The filmmakers attended Glasgow and Dublin film festivals, where the film was screening, to build on its festival buzz. Leading up to the release interviews were then featured in broadsheets like The Guardian, Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent as well as younger-skewed publications like Dazed, Vice, i-D and Girls On Tops.

“The publicists synthesised interest in the film as great cinema, leading with 4- and 5-star reviews, but also tapped into the topicality and news elements which resulted in diverse media interest,” noted one judge. “Super-impressive campaign that made the film visible and punch through.”

Team of the year 

UK film team, Organic

From working on blockbuster hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer to UK indies Aftersun and Pretty Red Dress, Organic had its highest-performing year on record in 2022/23, with the film team now encompassing 25 people and providing a “road map of how the cross pollination of big films with small films can play a role in lifting up the British independent filmmaking industry”. 

As well as supporting distributors in delivering some truly impressive campaigns across the year, what also caught the attention of the judges was the team’s dedication to diversity and representation. Organic started working with Creative Access for recruitment, overhauled its media database and created an ‘All in’ taskforce to hold leadership to account. To top it off, in January of this year Organic launched Origins, offering six-month paid placements to five participants from underrepresented groups, three of whom have stayed at the company.

“It is Organic’s commitment to diversity and representation that wins my vote here,” said one judge. “I do believe that our industry is progressing, and this kind of commitment is what we need to see across the board to accelerate that progress.”

Theatrical campaign of the year (Independent/specialty/mid-range release) 

Aftersun, Mubi

An independent British debut film releasing on the same weekend as several blockbusters and other festival hits was quite the challenge but one that the team at Mubi rose to, and then some. In the lead up, Aftersun was screened at multiple UK festivals including London and Edinburgh, which judges pointed out “helped to sustain the momentum from the Cannes’ launch in May through to the release in November”.

On the week of release, Q&As with the film’s director Charlotte Wells were hosted in several cinemas and Mubi worked with Odeon to present the film as part of its ‘Spotlight’ strand on multiple occasions throughout awards season. “An undeniably strong campaign,” said one judge.

Aftersun went on to crack £230,000 in its opening weekend — a rare feat for an independent title. It screened throughout awards season as demand persisted and ended up finishing on £1.8m, making it one of the highest-grossing British debuts of all time and Mubi’s record-breaker.

Theatrical campaign of the year — Studio/saturation (500 cinemas and over) 

Barbie, Warner Bros 
Highly commended: The Banshees Of Inisherin, Searchlight Pictures Distribution

Our judges could not ignore the several records that Barbie surpassed, calling Warner Bros’ campaign a “one-of-a-kind cultural moment”.

Earlier on in the campaign the studio applied a “breadcrumb strategy” from releasing a sci-fi-themed trailer that confounded expectations to backlit billboards featuring nothing but the iconic pink pantone and a date.

When it came to the main campaign, the goal was to “paint the town pink” according to Warner Bros. Buses and taxis were plastered with the colour, Selfridges put on an iconic window display and, of course, London’s landmarks were lit up accordingly. Fans were also given the chance to participate in the form of a poster-selfie generator, cinema foyer Barbie boxes and Snapchat filters.

These were just a few of the elements of an epic campaign that, as one judge pointed out, “will be remembered in cinematic history”.

Searchlight Pictures’ The Banshees Of Inisherin was highly commended by the judges, noting its “very well-managed and well-sustained campaign”, highlights of which included a partnership with Tourism Ireland to showcase the film’s locations.

Trailer of the year 

Living, Lionsgate UK 

The grainy effect, the vintage logos, a steam train rolling through the countryside — the opening visuals to this entry “immediately evoke the time period” and “set the trailer up perfectly”, according to one judge.

Launched in tandem with its premiere in Venice, judges were also captivated by the use of the score which grounds it in the spirit of the film while pairing with the beats of the trailer “beautifully”. This is added to by the numerous accolades and reviews spliced throughout, with a particular focus Bill Nighy’s performance to utilise the star power at play. 

Closing out the trailer is the iconic swing scene. Not only does this pay homage to Akira Kurosawa’s original Ikiru but lets the trailer’s final line sit with the audience: “Now I remember what it’s like be alive.”

One judge summed up the trailer as “simply divine”.

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