This week, Creo was excited to announce a shortlist of 30 international filmmakers for the upcoming “Sony Future Filmmaker” Awards. The selected artists will be awarded by being invited to workshops and events on the Sony lot in Los Angeles, providing a unique opportunity to experience behind the scenes. The awards ceremony will take place on May 30th, 2024, and winners across six categories will be announced.

Established by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the sophomore edition of the major annual awards program for short films provides a gateway for the development of exceptional cinematic talent and sets out to elevate voices with an original perspective on storytelling.

Originally founded by Creo and sponsored by Sony, this is the second edition of this program that seeks to provide a platform for talented filmmakers with a distinct voice. The shortlist featured this year advanced from a pool of over 8,4000 short films from more than 5,000 filmmakers.  The six categories are Fiction, Non-Fiction, Environment, Animation, Student, and Future Format. 148 different countries and territories participated in submission to this year’s program.

Some of the stories that have made it to the shortlist include a film about “two Holocaust survivors miraculously reunited after 80 years, a filmmaker’s search for the last remaining gibbon in Kuala Lumpur, a homeless ballet dancer undertaking a life-changing audition, a spontaneous romance between two strangers thrown together by grounded flights” and many more incredible works.

This year’s program features a worldwide point of view from the filmmakers- Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the United States are all represented.

The impressive shortlist was curated by Emmy-award-winning cinematographer Robert Primes ASC and celebrated Australian filmmaker Unjoo Moon. Category winners will be chosen by judges Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, Co-Founders and Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics (Call Me By Your Name, The Father, Whiplash); Rob Hardy ASC, BSC, BAFTA award-winning cinematographer (Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ex-Machina, Civil War); Kate Reid BSC, acclaimed British cinematographer (Game of Thrones, Great Expectations, Silo).  The judging process will focus on awarding films based on creative excellent and original approaches to narrative”, and is chaired by award-winning director Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Other Boleyn Girl, Tulip Fever).

Those selected for the shortlist will be flown to Los Angeles and attend a series of workshops from May 28th-31st. The program will conclude with a black-tie ceremony at the Cary Grant Theater and be hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Denny Directo.

Award-winning theater, television, and film director/Chair of the Jury Justin Chadwick stated: “The level of submission and the international scope of new voices shortlisted for the Awards is thrilling. Across the 30 chosen filmmakers the perspectives told are manifold and captivating, charged with a passion and authenticity. I am delighted to once again lead this selection of filmmaking; a vision of storytelling and cinematic ingenuity and an aperture into the filmmakers who shall make up the future of our industry.”

CEO, of Creo Scott Gray says: “With a staggering 8,400 films submitted this year, the caliber of entries received for this second edition of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards and the shortlist of filmmakers selected express the exceptional, global stories set to be showcased at this year’s event. We are grateful to Sony for providing this incredible opportunity for emerging filmmakers, and we extend our gratitude to our esteemed panel of judges for their invaluable expertise and insight in selecting the shortlist to join us in Los Angeles this May.”

Here are the films and filmmakers on this year’s shortlist:

• Katie Blair (USA), Imogene – Imogene is a single, free-spirited New Yorker in her 40s, whose traditional family is plotting to get her pregnant by inviting a donor for dinner;
• Tan Ce Ding (Malaysia), Please Hold the Line – A young scam call operator finds herself in a moral dilemma as she navigates a life-changing situation;
• Elliott Gonzo (UK), Hard Times – In east London, Danny, a man juggling fatherhood and addiction, is unexpectedly left to look after his daughter for the night, making a risky decision to involve her in a dangerous job for a much-needed paycheck;
• Jason Hogan (UK), Twenty – Emily, a homeless ballet dancer, undertakes a potentially life-changing audition;
• Margareth Villers (Estonia), What’s Up With Numbats? – In a small town library, meticulous Eve embarks on an absurd quest to find a missing book, determined to prove her colleague wrong after a minor disagreement.

• Jean Chapiro (Mexico), Hasta Encontrarlos (Till We Find Them) – After her daughter disappears in Mexico, a determined mother forms a collective of grieving families, navigating the harrowing landscape of disappearances as they search for loved ones, finding solace in healing dolls representing their missing children;
• Olawunmi Hassan (Nigeria), Ìrún Dídì – From traditional Yoruba techniques to modern interpretations, the film traces the evolution of the timeless art of hair plaiting, as it becomes a sacred ritual of self-care and empowerment;
• Jordan Matthew Horowitz (USA), Jack and Sam – A poignant documentary about two Holocaust survivors miraculously reunited after 80 years;
• Florian Nick (Germany), Beyond Hope – Following highly trained volunteers dedicated to rescuing people in danger, the film portrays the heroic work of the Icelandic Association for Search & Rescue, exploring the physical and emotional challenges upon its members;
• Kayla Robinson (USA), Quilted Education – Historian and skilled quilter Karen Hinton Robinson uses her talents to create beautiful artworks to educate and inform on Black history.

• Curtis Essel (Ghana), The Permaculturist – Vegan chef, permaculture enthusiast, and content creator Gaz Oakley meets permaculture expert Bemeriki Dusabe, a Congolese refugee who has been living in a settlement in Uganda for the last 16 years;
• Solmund MacPherson (Canada), Wildmen of the Greater Toronto Area – A group of Toronto citizens fed up with the rising cost of living renounce their personhood en masse to legally become animals;
• Palmer Morse (USA), Usugilix Awakun – Shayla, a passionate Unangax̂ scientist, delves into vital research concerning toxic shellfish;
• Annie Roth (USA), Hellbent – In a small rural town in Pennsylvania, the refuge of a rare salamander and the only source of clean drinking water for 700 people is threatened by the installation of a fracking waste injection well;
• Myles Storey (Malaysia), Finding Solo – Amongst the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur lies an isolated forest which is home to Solo, the forest’s last remaining gibbon.

• Eva Louise Hall (USA), Mira – A struggling accordionist busker gets more than she bargained for when her desire to get noticed attracts the attention of a mysterious and enticing competitor;
• Radheya Jegatheva (Australia), Bird Drone – A lonely seagull looking for love struggles to accept that its newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life;
• Lisa Kenney (UK), Mum’s Spaghetti – MC mastermind Poppy and her beatboxing border terrier Snoop are the new kids in town – and they’re ready to make their reputation known;
• Kyle Novak (Czech Republic), Ángulos de la Hora (Hour Angle) – After their flight is grounded, two strangers agree to an anonymous tryst as their new travel plans are arranged;
• Paul Robinson (USA), Resource:Full – Set in a desiccated landscape, an anthropomorphic machine extracts the energy from a solitary tree bud in an attempt to depart the depleted planet.

• Natalia Bermúdez (Mexico), Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), Mexico, Apnea – Renata, a young and talented swimmer, has a secret and fraught relationship with her swimming coach Liliana;
• Katniss Cheng (Hong Kong) & Salvador Alejandro Gutiérrez (Mexico), IADT – Dun Laoghaire Institute Of Art Design + Technology, Ireland, Below the Window – A new mother’s descent into darkness is triggered by the arrival of a mysterious wayfarer;
• Farah Jabir (USA), New York University, USA, Kasbi – A middle-aged Pakistani housewife, in search of herself, hires a young, self-assured sex worker to keep her company for the night;
• Raheem Razak (South Africa), AFDA, South Africa,Anguish – In what seems to be a zombie-infested world, devoted son Sam must tend to his zombie mother while surviving the apocalypse himself;
• Muangthai Sarupkarn (Thailand), King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand, Stigma – A look back at one of the most brutal family homicides in Thailand’s history, perpetrated a decade ago in the Bangkok metropolis and described as a ‘cold-blooded’ and racially motivated act.

• Muzamil Bhat (India), Polite Waters – Following the challenges faced by fishermen in the Wular Lake region, the story highlights the impact of man-made pollution and climate change on their work and livelihood;
• Cristian Daniel (Uruguay), PARASOMNIA – A young man attempts to discover the unsettling presence in a dark corridor, with no knowledge of what may lie ahead;
• Rana Ramy (Egypt), ABOVE/ZERO – A journey through the relationship between light, space, and subject, in an attempt to configure one’s existence within the light;
• Bruno Sena (Brazil), Collapse – Through a powerful visual narrative, viewers witness the devastating consequences of human negligence as a fish tank becomes a metaphor for our planet’s deteriorating ecosystems;
• Montgomery Taylor (UK), In The Bag – For the first time, witness a bank robbery from an angle you’ve never seen before.