The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards have unveiled the shortlist for the 2025 version, with two movies from Africa in rivalry for prime honours.
The 2025 shortlist was chosen from over 11,750 movies submitted by greater than 7,500 filmmakers throughout 158 international locations and territories.
The shortlisted African movies are:
Earlier than 16 (Loic Niyonkuru & Floriane Kaneza, Burundi) – A lady recounts her experiences elevating her baby after a traumatic assault at age sixteen.
Angel within the Stone (Religion Olaewe & Doyinsola Ajayi, Nigeria) – Shalewa, a reclusive autistic teenager, makes use of her metalworking expertise to avoid wasting her household from destroy.
Chosen for his or her excellent originality, the 30 shortlisted filmmakers throughout 4 classes—Fiction, Non-Fiction, Animation, and Pupil—have been awarded the distinctive alternative to attend a four-day immersive program behind-the-scenes on the Sony Footage Studios in Culver Metropolis from 2nd to fifth June, 2025, and culminating within the Awards ceremony on fifth June, 2025 the place the 4 class winners will likely be revealed.
Earlier than 16 was shortlisted within the Non-Fiction class, whereas Angel within the Stone earned a nod within the Pupil class.
Now of their third 12 months, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards have been established by Creo in partnership with Sony to nurture the filmmaking expertise of tomorrow and to supply a portal into the business for filmmakers from throughout the globe. Annually the shortlisted filmmakers are flown to Los Angeles for an in depth programme of workshops, screenings and occasions, fostering expertise via alternatives to develop filmmakers’ networks and giving them direct experiences proper within the coronary heart of Hollywood.
This 12 months’s shortlist incorporates a actually world panorama of filmmaking, with entries from Australia, Burundi, Chile, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK and the USA.
The 30 shortlisted filmmakers proceed to the subsequent stage of judging, from which the 4 class winners will likely be chosen by a panel of business leaders which incorporates filmmaker and author Minhal Baig (We Grown Now, Hala, BoJack Horseman); President of 3000 Footage Elizabeth Gabler (The place the Crawdads Sing, upcoming Klara and the Solar, Lifetime of Pi); Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman (Saturday Night time, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Juno); and award-winning theatre, tv and movie director and Chair of the Jury Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Lengthy Stroll to Freedom, The Different Boleyn Lady, Shardlake).
“These 30 filmmakers don’t solely inform tales—they create complete new cinematic worlds. From tales of defiance within the face of adversity, to tales of hope for our planet, the movies that make up this 12 months’s shortlist have the ability to move their audiences. Chairing this jury for the third 12 months, I’m as soon as once more deeply impressed and inspired as we glance to the way forward for filmmaking via the eyes of those good abilities”, stated Chadwick.
Taking centre stage on the Sony Footage Studios’ historic Scenic Arts Constructing, the Awards ceremony will likely be hosted by Emmy-award winner Denny Directo (Leisure Tonight), unveiling the 4 class winners who’re awarded with money prizes and Sony Digital Imaging gear. The ceremony follows an in depth four-day programme for the shortlisted 30 filmmakers on the iconic Sony Footage Studios in Culver Metropolis, providing an unique alternative to be taught from and join with each their friends and business leaders. Peeling again the curtain on Hollywood’s inside workings via periods led by Sony Footage executives, the filmmakers dive into every part from cinematography masterclasses to navigating expertise offers, demonstrations of cutting-edge tech, and studying concerning the artwork of soundtracking a narrative.