ADFEST 2019 is playing host to representatives from throughout the world - from Sydney to Cairo to L.A. Judges spend days reviewing entrees painstakingly and meticulously identifying that one scene, text or caption which sticks out. They are given copies for private viewing, but group viewing is also integral to the process. It is important to ADFEST that every judge is able to examine according to his or her personal criteria. One jury president remarked the most difficult part of the process was “judging fatigue,” but it noted that it was worth it because you truly see some incredible work.

Here are some of the other surprises and delights from the jury rooms and Young Lotus:

The biggest delight for Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST is “noodles. Asian noodles.” The new themed lunches at ADFEST 2019 represent the diversity that, importantly, underpins the festival and its Awards. “Think about it. Every Asian country has its own way of preparing noodles. And curry. It’s the same. There’s a different curry in every market across South-East Asia.” 

Emir Shafri, Executive Creative Director, Kuala Lumpur. “When you go to these award shows, you feel like you’ve seen it all, but every year, somehow you come in and you see something that’s really surprising that makes you think ‘oh wow, I wish I did that’. I think you definitely notice a lot of work trying to ride the wave of technology. I think the work that eventually stands out is the work that’s not using tech for tech’s sake, but somehow still connects to a purpose of human insight. ADFEST always feels like family. It feels like a reunion of sorts. Being at the beginning of the year, you also get a head start on the awards circuit and what sort of works are being put out.”

Vincent Diggonet, APAC Chief Executive Officer for MullenLowe Group and director, Young Lotus 2019, director. “One thing that stood out to me was that the teams were composed of a very classical setup of a copywriter and an art director. Apart from two exceptions, the rest of the teams were set up very traditionally. I’m amazed that nowadays, with the radical transformation digital has operated on all our industries, that we still structure ourselves the same as how we structured ourselves when I started 38 years ago. What’s interesting this year is that we usually have a pro bono brief, but this year, the winner project could run. It’s a real brief, for which we partnered with Google.”

Karla Henwood, executive producer, Nylon Studios. Judging Film Craft & New Director. “It was often surprising how entrants have chosen to manifest the film from the script. Some were stronger in script while others were stronger on the production side. Working out how to compare different styles, and art forms was a delight.” 

Aki Mizutani, Director & Editor, Cutters Tokyo. Judging Film Craft & New Director. “I thought the Fab 5 was amazingly done. How in a short period of time, the films were coordinated and archived. The shooting of infographics and layering was such good quality. It was a joy to watch.”