Over 8,400 short films were submitted for the 2nd annual Sony Future Filmmaker Awards in Los Angeles, but only six filmmakers walked away with a win Thursday night.
148 countries were represented at the event held at the Cary Grant Theatre on the Sony Pictures Studios lot, with films competing in six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Environment, Animation, Student and Future Format.
Created by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the black tie affair hosted by “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Denny Directo was preceded by a week-long industry immersion program and workshops with established Hollywood executives.
Winners were selected by a group of industry experts — including Sony Pictures Classics cofounders/co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, and cinematographers Rob Hardy and Kate Reid, with Unjoo Moon and Robert
Primes selecting the initial longlist. Director Justin Chadwick chaired both selection processes.
Ultimately, the winners were 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). While Hassan, Samson and Daniel were unable to attend the ceremony due to Visa issues, they and all nominees in similar situations are invited to attend next year’s event.
Read on for the full list of nominees and winners, below:
Fiction
Katie Blair, USA – “Imogene” (WINNER)
Tan Ce Ding, Malaysia – “Please Hold the Line”
Elliott Gonzo & Elliot Warren, U.K. – “Hard Times”
Jason Hogan, U.K. – “Twenty”
Margareth Villers, Estonia – “What’s Up With Numbats?”
Non-Fiction
Olawunmi Hassan & Adaobi Samson, Nigeria – “Ìrún Dídì” (WINNER)
Jean Chapiro, Mexico – “Hasta Encontrarlos” (“Till We Find Them”)
Jordan Matthew Horowitz, USA – “Jack and Sam”
Florian Nick, Germany – “Beyond Hope”
Kayla Robinson, USA – “Quilted Education”
Environment
Solmund MacPherson, Canada – “Wildmen of the Greater Toronto Area” (WINNER)
Curtis Essel, Ghana – “The Permaculturist”
Palmer Morse, USA – “Usugilix Awakun”
Annie Roth, USA – “Hellbent”
Myles Storey, Malaysia – “Finding Solo”
Animation
Kyle Novak, Czech Republic – “Ángulos de la Hora” (“Hour Angle”) (WINNER)
Eva Louise Hall, USA – “Mira”
Radheya Jegatheva, Australia – “Bird Drone”
Lisa Kenney, U.K. – “Mum’s Spaghetti”
Paul Robinson, USA – “Resource:Full”
Student
Raheem Razak, AFDA, South Africa – “Anguish” (WINNER)
Natalia Bermúdez, Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), Mexico – “Apnea”
Katniss Tung Cheng, Hong Kong & Salvador Alejandro Gutiérrez, Mexico, IADT – Dun Laoghaire Institute Of Art Design + Technology, Ireland – “Below the Window”
Farah Jabir, New York University, USA – “Kasbi”
Muangthai Sarupkarn, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand – “Stigma”
Future Format
Cristian Daniel, Uruguay – “PARASOMNIA” (WINNER)
Muzamil Bhat, India – “Polite Waters”
Rana Ramy, Egypt – “ABOVE/ZERO”
Bruno Sena, Brazil – “Collapse”
Montgomery Taylor, U.K. – “In the Bag”
Winners receive cash prizes and Sony cameras. The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards will officially return in 2025.