Each year, Depict challenges filmmakers from around the world to create an original and imaginative micro short film. The 23 films that made our main Depict 2020 selection were selected from over 1360 entries from 80 different countries.

The Main Depict Award of a £1,500 cash prize and a  lifetime membership to Shooting People went to the British filmmaker James Skinner for Fabulous which the described as: “a wonderful cheeky and inventive piece of work that fits perfectly in the 90 second format.  “

James had this to say about winning the Award:

“I am absolutely thrilled that our little film Fabulous has won at DepicT! this year – this award means so much to me! The film’s journey actually started at Encounters in 2016 when I got chatting to the stranger sat next to me at the DepicT! Awards Event. That stranger was Ben Marshall, a screenwriter, and we have now made six films together! To have one of them selected as the winner of DepicT! this year is absolutely amazing! Thanks so much to the judges and the DepicT! and Encounters team for everything you do to support indie filmmakers. I would recommend the competition to anyone. It’s a fantastic way to hone your storytelling skills or to experiment, a brilliant challenge!”

Bristol-based, self-shooting filmmaker Ryan Francis picked up the Depict British Special Mention Award for his powerful short B.I.AB. (Black In a Box). The Jury stated that “Ryan is a bold and exciting new voice and we look forward to seeing more work from him and working with him over the coming year.” He wins a package of career development opportunities for a UK-based filmmaker from NFTS,  BAFTA, Shooting People  and BFI  NETWORK.

Ryan said:

“Winning this award at Depict is great because my film explores the struggles of being black and I hope that by winning this award, my film will raise awareness about these issues. I hope it also encourages other young black filmmakers to get into the film industry.”

The Royal Photographic Society Cinematography Award, which carries a £1000 cash prize and invaluable exposure went to The Wall (Iran) by director Fareideh Naderi with cinematography by Hamid Ghavami which the Jury described as “visually striking; with each shot using light and framing to drive the narrative forward to create a poignant portrait of a society divided.”

The Random Acts Award, went to British animator Sundeep Toor for her animation Dilemma which the Jury found “charming, fun and fresh. They win a unique opportunity to be featured on Channel 4’s Random Acts platformand receive mentoring

“It means so much to be recognised as talent that is worth investing in. It gives me confidence in my abilities to do better.” said Teeside based animator Sundeep about winning the Award.

Last but not least, the Depict IMDbPro Audience Award chosen by you the audience from this year’s special  Lockdown Depict selection – 19 shorts inspired by the sensational range of work created by filmmakers during lockdown went to Gaia by Spanish animator Brenda Ximena Roldan Romero who is currently studying at Bournemouth University. The short is a collaboration between a number of Bournemouth University Masters’ students from across the world.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted filmmakers and of course the winners, a big thank you to all the filmmakers who entered this year, to our fantastic judges: Annemarie Lean–Vercoe  FRPS, Jess Loveland, Shaminder Nahal, David Sproxton, Chris Auty and Molly Cowderoy, to all 2,500 of you who voted and supported the competition, and of course, to our sponsors: Royal Photographic Society, Channel 4, Aardman Animations, Films@59, BAFTA, NFTS, Shooting People, British Council, IMDbPro, Independent Cinema Officeand Encounters Festival. We’ll see you all again next year!

You can catch up on the Watchalong and livestreamed Awards here and watch all the films shortlisted for this year’s competition online at depict.org/watch-films.

The 2021 call for entries opens soon so watch this space for updates…

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