Conversations with Riz Ahmed and his creative team started in approx August 2019. These conversations centred on creating a short film that would accompany the release of his new album the following year and would be premiered on our platform, accompanied by behind the scenes imagery and an article contextualizing the project. Working with both Riz and director Aneil Karia over the following few months, we conceptualized a short film based on the feeling of being outed by a country you call home - the central theme to Ahmed’s album. The brief was to create a short film of no more than 15 minutes that would resonate with global audiences and focus on the experiences of minority people, while also generating thousands of views and starting a dialogue around the subject. Our objectives were to reach thousands of people and to have the project highlighted in the press.

The point of the film is to show the human cost of racial prejudice. The director, Aneil Karia, takes the viewer inside the everyday life of a British family as they prepare for a wedding, even down to the mundane familial bickering. We wanted to create an instant bond with these characters and their lives - they could be any one of us. This makes the film and its consequences even more unsettling, but shows how dangerous it is when society “others” ethnic minorities, even in a country they call home. When this happens the human impact is devastating, as shown in The Long Goodbye. Emotion is at the heart of the story, and all of the creative choices were made to ensure that the emotional connection with the audience was strong throughout the 11 minute run time.

Our editorial magazine aligned with Riz Ahmed on the release strategy, ensuring that the film and communication around it was consistent and cohesive, particularly in its first week of release. Messaging was aligned across press releases, social media posts and our platforms wallpapers. There was also an intimate screening and Q&A session with Riz Ahmed and writer Afua Hirsch held in London to further dive into Ahmed’s personal motivations for making the film. Once the film was released on YouTube and WePresent, it was submitted to film festivals and awards in both the US and UK.

The Long Goodbye was filmed over a two day period in December 2019 before being edited and launched on March 6 2020. There was a photographer and writer on set to capture the nuance of the intricate filming process, and this informed the accompanying article on our editorial magazine. The short film was launched concurrently on Riz Ahmed’s YouTube channel and on WePresent, accompanied by a social media campaign, and 30 million global wallpaper impressions on WeTransfer. It was shared with press titles throughout that week.

Upon release The Long Goodbye was featured in numerous press outlets, praising the film for its stark and raw portrayal of racial violence in the UK, but also for delving below the surface and discussing prejudice that has been prevalent in British society for generations. In its first week of release the film was also brought up in the UK House of Commons by Labour MP Naz Shah. The Long Goodbye was viewed on YouTube over 465k times to date, and the accompanying article has been read by over 400k people. It has received over 1 million social impressions and won numerous awards to date including a Lovie, Raindance Film Fest Best Short, 3 Gold Shark Awards, including the Grand Prix prize, Best Short at the UK Music Video Awards, South London Film Fest award, a London Critics Circle Award and BIFA award for Best Short Film.