We are really excited to announce that this year The FOCUS Award is back, and bigger than ever! We will be continuing to run The FOCUS Award, a competition for Black filmmakers and filmmakers of Colour who are 18-25 years old and not currently working in the TV and/ or film industry. Entrants must submit a short film that they have made, up to ten minutes in length, and complete an application form telling us about who they are and what film means to them.
Every filmmaker who is shortlisted is given a mentorship session with a top corporate film company, and the winning filmmaker gains access to a year of mentorship opportunities, with chances for feedback, shadowing and networking with top corporate film companies.
So what’s changing? We’d like top introduce our new award: The FOCUS (15-18) Award. Great films aren’t all about the fancy equipment and the big budgets, so that’s why The FOCUS 15-18 Award is calling for short films made on your phone. This award is open to Black filmmakers and filmmakers of Colour between the ages of 15-18 years old. Entrants must submit a short they have made, no more than 5 minutes in length, and answer some questions about where they are at on their filmmaking journey.
The winner will be invited to spend a week doing work experience with a top corporate film company, with the chance to go on a shoot and see what a day in the office looks like!
Claire Fennelow, EVCOM’s Executive Director says, “The corporate film industry offers so much, and we wanted to make sure young people know about it as soon as they are thinking about their future. We look forward to connecting with more young filmmakers and can’t wait to see their work!”
Dean Beswick, Founder & Creative Director at Gorilla Gorilla! who are sponsoring this year’s award, says, “Inclusion and diversity is a key topic for much of our film and animation work and for us as a business as we continue to build our own diverse team of talented filmmakers. We’re delighted therefore to be supporting the FOCUS Award to help EVCOM champion talent from under-represented backgrounds.”
As of today, submissions are officially open for both the awards. Find out more about the two awards, and start your entry here. If you know of anyone who would interested in applying, please do send this info their way!