CULVER CITY, CA — Creo and Sony recently teamed up to present the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards (www.sonyfuturefilmakerawards.com), the first in what will be an annual awards program for short films that’s devoted to supporting and elevating independent filmmakers and creator from across the globe. By supporting talents in film, video and storytelling, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards is designed to provide a gateway for the development of creative excellence.
The black-tie awards ceremony was held at the Cary Grant Theatre on the historic Sony Pictures Studio lot in Culver City, CA, on February 22nd. Entertainment Tonight correspondent Denny Directo served as the evening’s host. Thirty filmmakers were shortlisted across six categories, with six winners announced. All filmmakers were awarded a trip to Los Angeles to take part in the ceremony, followed by a two-day industry immersion experience led by Sony Pictures executives. Winners additionally receive a range of cash prizes and Sony digital imaging equipment.
The following is a list of 2023’s winners and shortlists:
FILMMAKER - FICTION
Winner
Dan Thorburn, UK
Salt Water Town
Shortlist
Saul Abraham, UK
ENJOY
Dumas Haddad, UK
Flowers
Joy Webster, Canada
Menace
Ka Ki Wong, Hong Kong
Fire Room
FILMMAKER - NON-FICTION
Winner
Daniela Lucato, Italy
The Things You Don’t Know About Me, Mom
Shortlist
Alfie Barker, UK
Hanging On
Horacio Cabilla, Spain
This Is My Reason
Julianna Jimreivat, USA
Letting Go of the Grade
Juan Vicente Manrique Gomez, Venezuela
No Te Agüites (Don't Worry)
FILMMAKER - ENVIRONMENT
Winner
Pedro Furtado, Brazil
The Good Dolphins
Shortlist
Austin Smock, USA
The Beauty Between
Alexander Sworik, Canada
Seawolf
Joaquín Ezequiel Tucci, Argentina
Environmental Awakener
Thanh Tran, Vietnam
The Voice of the Wind
STUDENT FILMMAKER - FICTION
Winner
Mateo Salas, Colombia
Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia The Sun of the River
Shortlist
Juan Pablo Daranas Molina, Cuba New York University Tisch School of the Arts, USA
The Confirmation
Theo-Ziny Joel, Nigeria National Film Institute, Nigeria
Read My Body
Alisha Mehra, Australia
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Match Point
Pietro Venier, Italy
University of West London, UK
The Hook
STUDENT FILMMAKER - NON-FICTION
Winner
Seonghoon Eric Park, Republic of Korea Boston University, USA
In Cod We Trust
Shortlist
Catalina Fonseca Arango, Colombia Corporación Universitaria Taller 5, Colombia
Stories of a Dancing Mind
Shiao-ya (Maggie) Huang, Taiwan Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Farewell Chang Chun
Lubeera Saphina, Uganda Kampala University, Uganda
Ghetto Fist
Ishan Vaidya, India
The University of Salford, UK
Puffin Island
FUTURE FORMAT
Winner
Pan Tianhong, China Mainland
Homework for Winter Vacation
Shortlist
Jose Jacob, India
My India
Ria Nalavade, India
Magic Eraser
Ginna Parra, Colombia
Filtros (Filters)
Jacob Redman, UK
Subversive
“It was a pleasure to be on the jury of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards this year,” states Sir Roger A. Deakins, Academy Award-winning cinematographer. “My collaborator and wife, James, and I always enjoy seeing the work of new filmmakers. We spend a lot of time supporting upcoming talent through our website, podcast and YouTube channel (Team Deakins). We were pleased to be a part of this programme that hopefully will translate into new opportunities for emerging filmmakers. We loved that the scope of the entries was so wide, including submissions from the UK, Italy, Korea, Colombia and Brazil. We firmly believe that there is a lot of promising talent out there and enjoyed being a part of recognizing this through these awards.”
Jeremy Barber, partner, Motion Picture Literary and Talent, United Talent Agency, offered: “I was happy to participate in the first jury for the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, and to get to see the films from up-and-coming filmmakers from such diverse backgrounds. Hopefully, this year's winners will inspire next year's winners and beyond."
“With the goal to inspire and encourage these future filmmakers, we are excited for Sony Pictures to lead participants in a series of workshops that will focus on making and releasing feature films from the development process through marketing and distribution,” added Jeffrey Godsick, EVP, global partnerships & brand management, head of location based entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The inaugural competition ran from July 26th through December 13th of 2022, and drew over 4,000 films by more than 3,000 filmmakers in 140 countries.