Sony Future Filmmaker Awards 2024

Submissions for the 2024 edition of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards are open from 15 June 2023 and free for all to enter via www.sonyfuturefilmmakerawards.com.

Launched by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards are a major annual awards program for short films, providing a gateway for the development of creative excellence. Free to enter, the Awards aim at supporting independent filmmakers and elevating original voices from around the globe with a fresh perspective on storytelling.

Filmmakers worldwide are invited to submit to the Awards’ six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Environment, Animation, Student and Future Format. Thirty shortlisted filmmakers will be chosen and flown to Los Angeles for the Awards ceremony, taking place on May 30, 2024 in the Cary Grant Theatre on the historic Sony Pictures studio lot in Culver City, California. Winners from the six categories will be announced on the night and rewarded with cash prizes and a range of Sony Digital Imaging equipment. Winners will be selected by a panel of leading industry figures.

This year, winners and shortlisted filmmakers will attend an expanded four-day workshop program, which will provide exclusive access into the inner workings of the industry and cover a range of topics from pitching to legal, to working with talent agencies and using cutting-edge technologies. From this edition onwards, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards moves to the spring season, with the four-day workshop program and Awards ceremony taking place at the Sony Pictures studio lot in Culver City, California from May 28th to 31st, 2024.

For the 2024 Awards, we are introducing a new competition format with six categories for filmmakers to enter:

• The Fiction category seeks narrative-led entries that convey an original fictional story or event. Submissions must be between 5 to 20 minutes in length
• The Non-Fiction category is open to films between 5 to 20 minutes long which are predominantly factual in content
• The Environment category welcomes environment-focused entries between 5 to 20 minutes in length. The Environment category is part of Creators for the Planet, a global year-round engagement program set up by Creo and developed in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Sony Pictures
• New to this year’s competition is the Animation category, open to animated films between 2 to 20 minutes in length
• The Student category rewards filmmakers studying a film course at a registered institution at a diploma or degree level worldwide Institutions that make up the shortlist are selected by continent to ensure a diverse range of global talent. Submissions must be between 5 to 20 minutes in length and can be of any genre
• The Future Format category welcomes films shot exclusively with a smartphone. Entries must be between 2 to 5 minutes in length and can be of any genre

For full category descriptions and requirements, visit www.sonyfuturefilmmakerawards.com.