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Girl's 'butterflies' at her art in Wicked showings

Isobel Fry and Rumeana JahangirNorth West
BBC Maidah, who has black hair in a ponytail and wears her grey school uniform jacket and tie, holds up her winning artwork in an art classroom. It shows the backs of Elphaba and Glinda holding hands as they look on to the Emerald City, which has green towers and structures and hills sloping down on both sides. Two hot air balloons - one pink and the other green - glide above through a pinky-orange sunset.BBC
Maidah's illustration is shown before cinematic screenings of Wicked: For Good in the UK

A girl whose artwork is shown before cinematic screenings of the Wicked sequel says she had "butterflies in my stomach" on first seeing it.

Maidah, from Liverpool, was the winner from more than 700 entries in a competition to find an illustration for the ratings card by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The 11-year-old's sunset scene of witches Elphaba and Glinda holding hands as they gaze at the Emerald City has been seen by audiences at cinemas nationwide.

"I had this feeling that I might win but I just did this for fun," Maidah said.

Her illustration was revealed as the winner by the film's actors Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey and Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh in a special clip.

BBFC Group shot of Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum smiling as they hold up a copy of Maidah's artwork. They stand in front of artifical trees uses as backdrop props.BBFC
The 11-year-old beat 700 other illustrations to win

As part of the prize, Maidah and her family were invited to the UK premiere in November, attended by the cast.

When her artwork was shown on the big screen, she said: "I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach and everyone was cheering and clapping.

"It made me really happy on the inside."

BBFC The artwork itself, which shows the backs of Elphaba, who has long blonde hair and wears a pink ballgown, and Glinda, with her pointy black hat and black dress, holding hands. They look on to the Emerald City, which has green towers and structures and hills sloping down on both sides. Two hot air balloons - one pink and the other green - glide above through a pinky-orange sunset with yellow stars shining in the sky.BBFC
Maidah used water-based paint, acrylic pens and colouring pencils to create her winning artwork

Her school art teacher Jade Miller, who encouraged the whole class to submit entries, said: "The prompt I used was Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo - you might get to meet them, you might even be in the same room as them and they all screamed."

Maidah used water-based paint, acrylic pens and colouring pencils for the scene, saying: "I wanted to bring Oz to life by adding a lot of popping and bright colours and using main elements from the movie such as the Emerald City, the hot air balloons and characters."

Jade Miller and Maidah smile as they sit next to each other drawing on paper at a classroom table. Coloured pencils and a scrapbook of drawings are on the table with various colourful artworks stuck up on the wall behind.
Maidah and her classmates were encouraged by their teacher Jade Miller to take part in the contest

She said she found out about her win from her mother who "had to keep it a secret which was really hard for her".

"I thought it was a joke but when I figured it out, I was so honoured and shocked."

Her teacher Ms Millar cried when she found out, saying that she felt proud "to get a student to this point".

"It's made my year. It's amazing."

The film's director Jon M. Chu said the illustration reminded him of audiences in a cinema including "your best friend, total strangers, your family watching a big vision of what you could be".

"You can tell how much dedication and creativity has gone into this artwork," he said.

EPA Cynthia Erivo, Jon M. Chu and Ariana Grande pose together at the UK premiere. They link arms and smile. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande wear black gowns while Jon M. Chu wears a smart black suit jacket over a white shirt and tie.EPA
Director Jon M. Chu - seen with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - said the work reminded him of people watching a film at the cinema

The BBFC has been issuing black ratings cards since 1913 and said it wanted the annual artwork contest to "promote critical thinking in young people about the content they consume, helping them to make informed viewing choices".