Sony Future Filmmaker Awards announces Jury of 2025 edition

The jury of industry-leading experts for the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2025 is announced. The Awards return for their third edition at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City June 2-6, 2025.

Established by Creo in partnership with Sony, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards continue on their mission to elevate original voices from around the world with a fresh perspective on storytelling.

Each year the shortlisted filmmakers are flown to Los Angeles for an extensive program of workshops, screenings and events, creating meaningful opportunities to expand their networks and equipping them with the tools to push forward their careers. Building on the success of its first two editions, the major program for filmmakers continues to welcome budding cinematic talent from across the globe; the competition is free to enter and open for submissions until December 12, 2024.

The jury for the 2025 edition of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards brings together a panel of leading lights from the world of cinema:

Minhal Baig, acclaimed filmmaker and writer (We Grown Now, Hala, BoJack Horseman)

Elizabeth Gabler, President of 3000 Pictures (Where the Crawdads Sing, upcoming Klara and the Sun, Life of Pi)

Jason Reitman, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker (Saturday Night, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Juno)

Justin Chadwick, award-winning director and jury chair for the third year running (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Other Boleyn Girl, Shardlake)

Justin Chadwick, Chair of the Jury, said: “Last year’s shortlist selection illuminated the talent of thirty filmmakers who transformed their visions into captivating stories, bringing them into the heart of moviemaking in Los Angeles where they gained invaluable awareness of our ever-evolving industry. With this year’s competition, we are looking for projects that hold the potential not only to change the lives of these filmmakers but also to provoke and compel us as viewers to alter our outlooks. I am grateful to return for the third year as Chair and I speak for the jury when I say how excited we are to discover the creativity and passion which the 2025 competition will surely bring.”