Martin Stirlings wins first prize at Cannes Festival

Martin Stirlings wins first prize at Cannes Festival Created as an “awareness” piece for NGO Save the Children, Martin Stirling’s ‘Most Shocking Second a Day Video’ has won a top award at one of the most prestigious advertising festivals in the world. Following a year in the life of a young British girl whose life is falling apart after an imagined civil war, the 2-minute film replicates the ‘one-second-aday’ video style made famous by bloggers. Created to highlight the effect the Syrian civil war has had on the country’s children, Save the Children hope it acts as a reminder that just because the horror isn’t happening here at home, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Heralded as “one of the internet’s most-watched directors”, Stirling’s video has already clocked up over 50-million views online. Adding to the millions of views already collected by the filmmaker’s other viral videos ‘LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome’ and ‘Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) force-fed under standard Guantánamo Bay procedure’. The director, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Television Production from Bournemouth University in 2007, was keen to point out that views aren’t always in his mind when creating his work. “I always concentrate on crafting a beautiful story with an emotional punch and hope to hell that people find value in the message by sharing it”, says Stirling

Martin Stirlings wins first prize at Cannes Festival Created as an “awareness” piece for NGO Save the Children, Martin Stirling’s ‘Most Shocking Second a Day Video’ has won a top award at one of the most prestigious advertising festivals in the world. Martin Stirlings wins first prize at Cannes Festival Created as an “awareness” piece for NGO Save the Children, Martin Stirling’s ‘Most Shocking Second a Day Video’ has won a top award at one of the most prestigious advertising festivals in the world.