Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2024 announces winners

Creo reveal the six winners of the second edition of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, announced this evening during a special ceremony in Los Angeles hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s correspondent Denny Directo. Established by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the major annual awards program for short films provides a gateway for the development of exceptional cinematic talent and champions filmmakers with an original perspective on storytelling.

Chosen by a panel of expert judges led by chair Justin Chadwick, the winners of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2024 are: Katie Blair (USA, Fiction), Olawunmi Hassan & Adaobi Samson (Nigeria, Non-Fiction), Solmund MacPherson (Canada, Environment), Kyle Novak (Czech Republic, Animation), Raheem Razak (South Africa, Student), and Cristian Daniel (Uruguay, Future Format).

As part of their prize, this year’s winners and the wider shortlist took part in a week-long industry immersion program, culminating in tonight’s Awards ceremony. This one-of-a-kind prize provides filmmakers with an invaluable opportunity to connect with their peers and leaders in the field, and to gain exclusive behind-the-scenes access. The program comprises workshops led by Sony Pictures executives, covering a range of topics from keynotes by major cinematographers, screenings and Q&A sessions, to insights into working with talent agencies and using cutting-edge technologies and animation, film scoring and music rights. In addition to this, the six winners announced tonight receive a range of cash prizes and Sony camera equipment.

This year’s winners were selected from over 8,400 films by more than 5,000 filmmakers across 148 countries and territories submitted across six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Environment, Animation, Student, and Future Format. The winners were chosen by Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, Co-Founders and Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics (Call Me By Your Name, The Father, Whiplash); Rob Hardy ASC BSC, BAFTA award-winning cinematographer (Civil War, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ex-Machina); and Kate Reid BSC, acclaimed British cinematographer (Game of Thrones, Great Expectations, Silo), awarding creative excellence and original approaches to narrative. The winners were drawn from 30 shortlisted filmmakers selected from a longlist by celebrated Australian filmmaker Unjoo Moon and Emmy-award winning cinematographer Robert Primes ASC. Both stages of the judging process were chaired by award-winning director Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Other Boleyn Girl, Tulip Fever, Shardlake).

The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards jury as a whole spoke on this year’s winning and shortlisted filmmakers: “This year’s winners traverse borders and cultures, a global gathering of creative talent set to make their mark in our industry. The winners each approach their stories with originality; from a portent of an eroding society, to a surreal take on family pressures, to an animated love story suspended in time: we were struck by the ingenuity of these filmmakers and their fresh perspective on the world. It is with great pleasure we celebrate the winners, as well as the wider cohort of 30 filmmakers who comprised this year’s shortlist, and we look forward to watching as they take their next steps in cinema.”

Following its successful sophomore edition, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards will return for a third edition in spring 2025 with submissions opening later this year.

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2024 WINNERS

FICTION

The Fiction competition rewards narrative-led submissions that convey an original fictional story or event. The category winner receives a Sony camera and lens kit and $5,000 (USD).

In the Fiction category, the winner was presented by Dylan Leiner, Executive Vice President of Acquisitions, Production and Business Affairs, Sony Pictures Classics:

Katie Blair (USA), Imogene – Imogene is a single, free-spirited New Yorker in her 40s, whose traditional family is plotting to get her pregnant by inviting a donor for dinner.

NON-FICTION

The Non-Fiction category awards short films that are predominantly factual in content, with content that can include archive footage, documentary footage, reenactments and animation. The category winner receives a Sony camera and lens kit and $5,000 (USD).

In the Non-Fiction category, the winner was presented by Nekesa Moody, Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Hollywood Reporter:

Olawunmi Hassan & Adaobi Samson (Nigeria), Ìrún Dídì – From traditional Yoruba techniques to modern interpretations, the film traces the evolution of the timeless art of hair plaiting, as it becomes a sacred ritual of self-care and empowerment.

ENVIRONMENT

The Environment category champions films that communicate a positive future for the planet and is part of Creators for the Planet, a global year-round program set up to spotlight and amplify creators’ stories promoting prosperity and peace for people and the planet. A collaboration with Sony Pictures, the United Nations Foundation and Creo, Creators for the Planet aims to mobilize and inspire people to act now through photography and film. The category winner receives a Sony camera and lens kit and $5,000 (USD).

In the Environment category, the award was presented by David Ohana, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, United Nations Foundation:

Solmund MacPherson (Canada), Wildmen of the Greater Toronto Area – A group of Toronto citizens fed up with the rising cost of living renounce their personhood en masse to legally become animals.

ANIMATION

New to this year’s competition, the Animation category embraces filmmakers using stop-motion, motion graphics, computer animation, drawn-on-film, rotoscoping, and experimental animation, as well as additional available techniques. The category winner receives a Sony camera and lens kit and $5,000 (USD).

In the Animation category, the winner was presented by Carolyn Giardina, Senior Entertainment Tech & Crafts Editor, Variety:

Kyle Novak (Czech Republic), Ángulos de la Hora (Hour Angle) – After their flight is grounded, two strangers agree to an anonymous tryst as their new travel plans are arranged.

STUDENT

The Student category rewards filmmakers studying a film course at a registered institution at a diploma or degree level worldwide. The winner and their institution each receive Sony camera equipment.

In the Student category, the winner was presented by Ken Morisawa, Senior General Manager, Imaging Marketing Division, Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Corporation:

Raheem Razak (South Africa), AFDA, South Africa, Anguish – In what seems to be a zombie-infested world, devoted son Sam must tend to his zombie mother while surviving the apocalypse himself.

FUTURE FORMAT

The Future Format category champions a new generation of aspiring filmmakers, welcoming 2 to 5-minute-long films shot exclusively on a smartphone. The category winner receives a range of Sony camera equipment and $2,500 (USD).

In the Future Format category, the winner was presented by Kate Reid BSC, Cinematographer and Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2024 jury member:

Cristian Daniel (Uruguay), PARASOMNIA – A young man attempts to discover the unsettling presence in a dark corridor, with no knowledge of what may lie ahead.