Ster-Kinekor asks a nation to choose the first movie a blind man sees — Loeries Grand Prix

Ster-Kinekor, South Africa's leading cinema chain, wanted to remind people that movies are meant to be seen on the big screen. Its CSI programme Vision Mission could fund and organize sight-restoring treatment, but needed a story — until FoxP2 found Philani Twala, a young man from Katlehong blind for ten years.

Give a blind young man the gift of sight, then let South Africa vote on his first film; the public chooses Avatar, and the big-screen magic becomes the story.

FoxP2 spent 12 months documenting Philani's life into two three-minute films; in May 2016 #OpenEyes launched, asking South Africans to suggest the first movie he should watch. Moviegoers' opt-in donations (from R2.50 a ticket) helped fund the double corneal transplant, performed pro bono by Dr Akiel Asvat; on 26 May 2016 Philani watched the winning film, Avatar, at Ster-Kinekor Eastgate with family and friends.

Vision Mission donations rose 60% during the campaign; #OpenEyes drew 50 million online impressions and over R14 million in earned media — more than 20 times the campaign budget — while cinema attendance beat targets by 17%. It won the Loeries 2016 Grand Prix for Integrated Campaign plus three Golds, and a Loeries 2017 Campaign Gold.

Ster-Kinekor's brief to FoxP2 was commercial: in the download age, remind South Africans that movies belong on a big screen. The agency's answer was not a bigger ad but a real person's story — Philani Twala, a young man from Katlehong on the East Rand who had been almost completely blind for ten years after a degenerative eye disease, and who could not afford the double corneal transplant that would restore his sight.

The creative idea made the public part of the narrative: give Philani the gift of sight, then ask all of South Africa to vote on which film he should see first. FoxP2 spent 12 months documenting his life — interviews with Philani, his family and friends — cut into two three-minute web films that introduced him and called for movie suggestions. The clear winner, ahead of Star Wars and Fast & Furious 7, was Avatar.

The transplant was made possible by Ster-Kinekor's decade-old CSI programme Vision Mission, funded by moviegoers who opt in to add from R2.50 to their ticket when booking; Dr Akiel Asvat performed the second transplant pro bono. On 26 May 2016, Philani watched Avatar at Ster-Kinekor Eastgate with family and friends: 'Avatar was amazing. I felt like I was inside the movie, acting in the movie too.'

The campaign ran for only a few weeks but its impact was measured: Vision Mission donations rose 60%, the campaign drew 50 million online impressions and over R14 million in earned media — more than twenty times the budget — and cinema attendance exceeded targets by 17%. At Loeries Durban 2016 it won the Grand Prix in the Integrated Campaign category, one of only four handed out that year, plus three Golds, and added a Campaign Gold at Loeries 2017.

The audience was given a role — choosing the first film — so caring had a concrete action attached to it.

A real person's journey replaced the usual cinema ad: no slogans, just a story the public could follow and complete.

The winning film's spectacle reinforced why the big screen matters in the first place.

Donations were already wired into the ticket-buying moment, so empathy converted directly into funding.

The campaign treated Philani as the hero of his own story, documented sensitively over 12 months.

Let the audience into the story: a nation choosing the first film a blind man sees turned a charity drive into a shared moment, and the proof was the experience itself.

After Avatar, Philani said: 'I have passed through the pain, and now I'm focusing on the future.' The campaign became the flagship story of Vision Mission, which had already given thousands of underprivileged school children eye tests and spectacles over a decade. Awards followed: Loeries 2016 Grand Prix for Integrated Campaign plus three Golds (PR, Branded Content, Integrated), Creative Circle firsts, and a Loeries 2017 Campaign Gold. Ster-Kinekor promised more such stories, and #OpenEyes became a reference point for brand-led social impact told with restraint.