Messages to toast the New Year
Award-winning director Niclas Larsson counts down to 2022 in his short film that spans New Year’s Eve celebrations across the globe, in collaboration with WhatsApp.
In partnership with WhatsApp
Words: Lauren O'Neill
Director: Niclas Larsson
Whether it’s your dad sending an overly soppy essay after several shandies, or your housemate pinging you a paltry “happy new year x” after your spat for borrowing her saucepan, messages from the people we love are the backbone of New Year’s Eve.
Though it’s questionably the most overrated night out of the year, with venues overstuffed and ticket prices that cost more than your rent, NYE is made great by the people you share it with, both in-person and virtually.
Even if you missed the countdown because you were stuck in the toilet queue, seeing that WhatsApp from the person you miss, love, fancy, or need to make up with can turn the start of a new year around – because really, it’s not New Year until you get the message you’ve been waiting for.
In the spirit of sharing and to bring this sentiment to life, WhatsApp have joined forces with Cannes Lions-winning director Niclas Larsson and Oscar-winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren to create a short film that demonstrates the impact of that feverishly anticipated message. Spanning NYE celebrations from Mumbai to Nigeria – a journey that mirrors WhatsApp’s status as the globe’s biggest and most popular messaging app – the film shows people all over the world united in waiting for a special “Happy New Year” notification, as the parties and countdowns happening around them melt away.
We’ve all been there, and we’ve all been that message for somebody else, too – so we asked five people from around the globe who the first person they reach out to on New Year’s Eve will be, and what they’re hopeful for in 2022, as we say goodbye to another year!
NATASHA SUMANT, DESIGNER
@tashasumant
Every New Years Eve I schedule an email to myself. It’s usually a letter with all my hopes and dreams for the year ahead and who I want to be. It works as a really great manifestation tool and it’s nice to get a note from your past self!
My resolutions this year are to have no hard and fast resolutions. I’m just going to try to be open to new experiences, deal with curveballs and uncertainty like a free-flowing river; and not be hard on myself when I trip up.
ACEMO, MUSICIAN
The first person I would message on NYE is my girlfriend. My love, my partner, my best friend, I love her so much and we will be separate on NYE because both of us will be working.
My words of wisdom for 2022 are to keep this thing going and support each other along the way. Help that person next to you when they’re down and be a little more conscious of the space you’re taking and the people around you. Strap up and strap in, ’cause we got a hell of a lot more coming our way.
PIERRAH HILAIRE, CONTENT CREATOR
My resolutions for 2022 are to save a lot more money, start better communication with loved ones, eat vegan again and launch a show that I am working on with friends. My advice is to keep going and take more risks, it will pay off later!
NELLIE EDEN, BEAUTY EDITOR & CREATIVE CONSULTANT
Next year I am aiming to party more and sleep less. No more elasticated waistbands. Less internet shopping. One fiction book a week. Learn to make a signature dish. Spend more time outside, do more walking. Less scrolling. More solo cinema trips. More listening, less talking. Go back to New York. Tell my mum I love her at least twice a day. Don’t sweat it.
The first person I will message on New Year is one of my besties: Isamaya or Shannon or Grace or Tessa or Jemma on WhatsApp. They’ve made this year survivable. I love them so deeply.
ANA PERROTE, MUSICIAN
I’ve learnt that work isn’t everything. Personally, my career has been hugely affected by the pandemic, working in the music industry has been tough. When you are creative and you are your own boss and work is also your passion, you pour your soul into it, and sometimes it doesn’t go the way you had planned. But I want to remember that it doesn’t mean work is all we have. You can’t control circumstances, or know what the future is going to be like, so I’m gonna try to stay present and enjoy all the things I do have. Life is a joke anyway, so let’s laugh about it!
