The FOCUS Award 2024

Presented by EVCOM for young diverse filmmakers

Are you an aspiring film maker but finding the industry hard to break into? Did you know that there’s whole companies who are dedicated to producing short films and adverts for businesses, governments and charities?

EVCOM is an organisation which represents this part of the film industry, and this 2024 we are excited to launch the FOCUS Award for its third year! Designed to celebrate young, diverse creative talent, the FOCUS Award is an award for young Black filmmakers and filmmakers of colour.

We recognise that Black people, and People of Colour are massively under-represented throughout our industry. The FOCUS Award is designed to foster, nurture and grow talent, as well as open doors. EVCOM is committed to addressing racism and race-related barriers to access and inclusion within the corporate film sector, to work towards a more inclusive and representative corporate film industry. Find out more here.

The FOCUS Award 2024

Presented by EVCOM for young diverse filmmakers

Returning for it’s third year, the FOCUS Award is calling for people to send in their short films for the chance to win invaluable mentoring sessions and to have their film screened in front of professional filmmakers!

What are we looking for?

• Creative energy
• Storytelling ability
• A passion for filmmaking

Can I apply?

The award is open to filmmakers who are 18-25, Black or a Person of Colour and not already working in the film and TV industry.

How do I apply?

Please submit a short film you have made that is up to ten minutes in length. In the application form we will ask you to give us some background about the film and what you were trying to achieve with it.

Applications will open in March 2024.

What do I get if I win?

The shortlisted entrants will receive free tickets to the summer awards ceremony and have excerpts from their films screened to all our guests! All shortlisted entrants will receive a mentorship session with a top corporate film company, where they can ask their questions, get feedback on their film and learn about the industry.

Two winners will be selected, each of whom will receive a trophy and six months worth of mentorship opportunities, provided by three of the top corporate film companies. Over the course of the year, each mentee will have access to mentorship sessions, feedback on their work, and the chance to spend a day at a film shoot working with two different mentors over the six month period.

Hear from our mentors:

Gorilla Gorilla!, who are also kindly sponsoring the award, says, “We’re delighted to be a mentor company for the FOCUS Award for the second year running. We very much enjoyed judging the entries to the competition and providing advice and guidance to the winner and the runners up. It’s also been a pleasure to see their careers take positive steps forward since. We look forward to meeting this year’s new talent and unlike last year being able to meet up in person too!”

The Edge Picture Company continues, “Addressing racism and race-related barriers to access and inclusion within our industry is top priority for us at The Edge. Last year we met some incredible, talented creatives, two of which we’re delighted to say now have full-time jobs at The Edge. We were impressed by the talent who entered last year and really look forward to mentoring some of the young people involved again this year.”

Media Zoo adds, “We are so proud to be supporting the EVCOM Focus awards and are honoured to be one of the mentors for this year’s winner.

We know how important it is for young people to have the right mentoring and opportunities to gain the experience they need. This will really shape their careers and help them make their mark in our industry. We are absolutely delighted to be supporting these fantastic awards and can’t wait to see all of the entries and meet this year’s winner.”

The FOCUS Award is sponsored by Gorilla Gorilla! – thank you so much!

Dean Beswick, Founder & Creative Director, Gorilla Gorilla! 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.”