Sony Future Filmmaker Awards recognize short-form content creators
February 24, 2023

Sony Future Filmmaker Awards recognize short-form content creators

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.