Written by Kianna Best on Jun 22, 2023. Posted in Awards and Festivals

Young Director’s Awards 2023 spotlight next generation of creatives

The 2023 instalment of the Young Director’s Awards celebrated an array of globally diverse entries today in Cannes. As the Lions occupied the Palais, emerging creatives displayed the utmost imagination across 16 categories including documentary, animation and the newly instated series section. With representations from 46 countries, winners were spread Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

 

 

 

As Francois Chilot took to the stage for the start of the ceremony, present contenders shifted in their seats, waiting in anticipation for the screenings of their creative endeavors and the impending awarding. Opening with a montage of last year’s winners, created by JD Smyth of Final Cut New York,  the high octane clips set the mood for the upcoming projects to join their predecessors.

 

 

Other preceding presentations included Diego Abrantes directed and Push Films produced Born to Create Drama , and comical Chat GPT based jury member announcement produced by Bacon, and directed and edited by Jacky Su.  Reflecting on the experience, jury chair Kai Hsiung congratulated the efforts of the submissions as well as those of her co-collaborators in the form of the 40 member jury that rifled through the entries to reach the culmination of the top performers.

 

 

No two projects were the same as the show began. From familial strife, navigating conversations around suicide and powerful social commentary. With two gold wins in the creative use of sound and passion project categories, Split Second directed by Sinan Sevinç of Germany was also awarded the special jury prize in the film school (up to 10 minutes) section alongside Lucas Parra’s This is Escac of Spain in the same category. Also awarded the special jury prize was documentary category entry Call Me Mommy direted by Ireland’s Tara O’Callaghan. Celebrated for their production prowess, Denmark based company Bacon took home the Producers Award.

 

 

For animation, Arne Hain of Germany took home the prize for his unexpected turn of events in The Last Bar. Equally as unexpected was one of the changing the world frame by frame entrants, Nature Attack of France. The Erik Sémaskin project saw unity between predator and prey when human interference became a common enemy. The second awardee of the category was Roots of Rhythm- The Dance Journey of Majid Kessab directed by Steve Won of Germany.

 

 

From the UK, 4 project took home the gold, including a powerful commentary on suicidal thoughts with Vincent René-Lortie’s Talk Away the Dark for the charity commercial category, black and white commercial The Plimsol from Jackie Lee, overwhelming auditory experience Malevolence from Eugenia Hamilton and Bandits, a climactic journey for a mother and son duo by Nick Alexander. With that parental dynamic at the heart, the Netherlands took home the gold in the over 10 minutes short film category with their project My Mother and Me by Emma Branderhorst, alongside Ireland’s Safe As Houses by Mia Mullarkey and Canada’s SIMO from Aziz Zoromba.

 

 

The Netherlands also took home the award for the series category for best original over 20 minutes fo SiHAME from Lisette Donkersloot. Other winners include dream pitch (short film) winner Bowling Bao from Rosanna Peng from Canada, dream pitch (changing the world frame by frame) winners from Germany I Think I Hate My Father from Linda Schiwa Kilnkhammer, 14 in February, the up to 10 minutes short film contender from Victoria Sing of Australia, The Giving Dead, a super short by Florian Reittner of Germany, Iran-e Man by Nagmeh Pour of Denmark, Edi from Jan Vrhovnik of Slovenia and Fishmonger from Neil Ferron of the US.

 

 

Images courtesy of Young Directors Awards