We Are Open

Wahaj · 2023

Wahaj means “glow” in Arabic. With fire central to the restaurant’s cooking, the name already contained a useful visual starting point.

The film takes that cue into a warm, close view of the food and its presentation. The film takes a low-key approach, concentrating attention on ingredients, detail and the character of the dining experience.

A concept close to the product

There is an advantage to a creative idea that belongs to what the restaurant actually does. It does not need a separate explanation before the viewer can understand its relationship to the food.

Fire offers movement, light and a sense of transformation. The directing task is to use that association with enough restraint that it supports the restaurant rather than becoming a generic cooking montage.

Detail without distance

A close view can make texture and presentation more immediate. It also asks for choices about what remains outside the frame.

Here, the attraction is the intimate scale. The film does not need to catalogue every corner of the venue to communicate its atmosphere. A consistent relationship between light, colour and food can suggest the experience more clearly than a rapid tour of everything available.

The invitation

“We Are Open” is a direct announcement, but the images can do more than confirm that a door is unlocked. They can give someone a reason to walk through it.

For me, that is the useful distinction in a restaurant launch film. Information establishes the offer; a particular sensory character makes it memorable. The work draws from a quality already present in the restaurant and lets that quality organise the film.