Gold in Cannes! The creative association “Skudras Metropole” and the Ukrainian agency “Plombir Event” are winning laurels

The creative association “Skudras Metropole” and the Ukrainian agency “Plombir Event” with the international charity project “Ukraine. Residence of Freedom” is winning laurels by conquering the red carpet and bringing the name of Freedom to the world. GOLD at the prestigious competition “Heavent Awards 2024” in Cannes!

The creative association “Skudras Metropole” and the Ukrainian agency “Plombir Event” are recognized in Cannes and conquer the red carpet, receiving GOLD in the ambitious and prestigious competition of event organizers “Heavent Awards 2024”, which awards the best live communication events and cultural events from all over the world – informs Head and creative director of the creative association “Skudras Metropole” Gundega Skudriņa.

The project “Ukraine. Residence of Freedom” received the high GOLD award in the category “Sport, cultural, educational or entertainment event award”.

The “Heavent Awards 2024” festival and competition is taking place for the 16th year. 158 national and international applications were submitted to the competition. Only 13 outstanding works with achieved good results received the award. Specifics of the competition – 60% of the overall rating is made up by the vote of the jury, who have evaluated the project presentation in person with a large composition of 16 jury representatives. 6 minutes are allotted for the presentation of each project. On the other hand, 40% is obtained during the ceremony from the vote of the hall, where each finalist’s project presentation is evaluated only after 30 seconds. watching a long video in which you have to learn to explain the tasks, goals, idea and achieved results of each project.
Among the finalists and awardees are brands and traditional events such as the Tour de France, FIFA Club World Cup 22 opening ceremony, strong brand stories and special ceremonies, events in different countries – The Grand Automotive Week in Qatar, Paris Lotus Fashion Week, technological performances in the Eiffel tower and Château Saint-Michel, the Volkswagen World Presentation and the 75th anniversary of Porsche Sports Cars. Deloitte, Air France, DNB Bank, Paris Aéroport Porsche Sports Cars, Renault, Škoda Kodiaq, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Samsung, Pandora, Google AI, Viva Technology 2023, and many others.

“Seeing the powerful and powerful events of other countries with huge budgets, one can only gasp in amazement. How did we manage to achieve such a powerful result with volunteer work? A strong idea, creative solutions in a dead end, non-standard tandems, new, unprecedented artistic techniques, joint work of agencies, synergy of two nations, bringing the word and meaning of Freedom through art and culture to the world, as an absolutely voluntary work, was still appreciated the most.” says Gundega Skudriņa, head and creative director of RA “Skudras Metropole”.

“Already reaching the semi-finals at the prestigious Cannes Heaven Awards is an amazing result and a huge honor. But even more surprisingly, after a fierce battle and face-to-face presentations, in which it is a mandatory condition to present the works together with the client, to receive high awards. As representatives of Cannes City Hall said at the festival ceremony: “If you are here, the work you have done is very special, because the selection of works is ruthless and very strict.” Only the most powerful and able go on the red carpet. To achieve such high results, especially when this is the only competition in the industry, where 60% of the final evaluation is made by the jury’s vote, and 40% by the audience’s vote in the hall during the event ceremony, is simply unreal. This means that the French were also surprised by our project, says RA “Skudras Metropole” and the project “Ukraine. Residence of Freedom” host Tom Weiss.

“Actually, it is still hard for us to believe that the joint work of Latvians and Ukrainians has received such a high award. We thank everyone who contributed to the creation of the project. We share this gold with everyone involved and are proud that Latvia CAN! We are a support for Ukraine in various sectors and events. Thanks to all the great “Ukraine. Residence of Freedom” team and all volunteers involved in the project, supporters and donors. More than 40 companies and partners, that’s how Gundega Skudriņa, head and creative director of RA “Skudras Metropole” tells about what has been done.

Charity project “Ukraine. Reisdence of Freedom” is an international cooperation project of Latvian and Ukrainian artists, the aim of which is to unite artists from different countries in a united search for freedom, as well as to support those who need mental health support as a result of hostilities. The project started on August 24, 2023, when Ukraine’s Independence Day was celebrated, and ran until the end of the month, August 29, 2023. After the project in Riga, it will be implemented in Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and other countries.

The initiators and authors of the project are Natali Chyzhova (UA), Gundega Skudriņa (LV), Tom Weiss (LV), Dasha Bilenko (UA) and Alex Morozova (UA).

During the six days of the art residency, high-quality cultural and artistic processes took place, which captured the essence of freedom. More than 20 Latvian and Ukrainian artists and creative industry professionals from ten different industries participated in the project – painters, actors, installation artists, sound artists and composers, chefs, choreographers, etc.

“We believe in the power of art to cross borders and bring people together. With this event, we wanted to promote interstate dialogue and positively influence those who have been affected by the war in Ukraine,” emphasizes project initiator Natalia Chizova.

“Each work created by the pair of artists is a story of freedom. It is the synergy of two nations in the expression of contemporary art. This is the way the artists expressed their position on the price of freedom and shared it with a wider audience,” emphasizes Gundega Skudriņa, chief producer of the project.

“The project is still ongoing. Its next series are planned for Finland, Lithuania and other countries. We are very happy about the continuation of creative tandems, new initiatives and collaborations that herald important and useful values ​​for society,” says project manager Tom Weiss.