MIFF Awards 2024
The MIFF Awards recognise filmmaking excellence across a suite of six award categories. Returning in 2024 are the festival’s prestigious Bright Horizons Award, presented by VicScreen; the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award; The Uncle Jack Charles Award, presented in collaboration with Kearney Group; and the Intrepid Audience Award. Elsewhere, the 63rd MIFF Shorts Awards, presented by Campari, celebrate the best in short-form filmmaking, while the MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award, presented by Collarts, names the best title from the MIFF Schools program.
Bright Horizons Award
PRESENTED BY
Presented by VicScreen, the flagship Bright Horizons Award celebrates filmmakers on the ascent, as chosen from within the Bright Horizons film competition. Awarding AUD$140,000 to the winner, it is one of the most substantial film prizes in the world.
This year’s nominated films are Flow, Good One, Hoard, Inside, Janet Planet, Julie Keeps Quiet, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Sweet Dreams, Universal Language and The Village Next to Paradise.
2024 Jury
Deliberating on the Bright Horizons Award and the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award is an esteemed international Jury, this year led by Jury President Ivan Sen, along with David Lowery, Deborah Scott, Yulia Evina Bhara and Jillian Nguyen.
Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award
PRESENTED BY
The Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award recognises an outstanding Australian creative within a film playing in the MIFF program with a A$70,000 cash prize. The prize can be awarded to a director or a technical or creative lead.
The Uncle Jack Charles Award
PRESENTED BY
The Uncle Jack Charles Award, presented in collaboration with Kearney Group, recognises an outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creative within a film playing in the MIFF program. The recipient will be awarded a A$20,000 cash prize and A$25,000 worth of financial services with Kearney Group.
The pool of contenders is drawn from across all film creative departments including directing, producing, screenwriting, composing, editing, cinematography, acting, production design, art direction and sound design. The prize is awarded to the creative deemed to have demonstrated excellence and commitment in their relevant craft, as selected by a film jury of three key industry personnel.
This year’s jury includes Davey Thompson, First Peoples Production Executive at VicScreen and a talented producer, writer and actor; actor Thomas Weatherall, from Heartbreak High and about to be seen in The Narrow Road to the Deep North; and acclaimed filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas, from Brindle Films.
Intrepid Audience Award
PRESENTED BY
Love it? Hate it? Rate it! This award, presented by Intrepid, crowns viewers’ favourite title from the festival, as determined through online and app votes.
MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award
PRESENTED BY
Presented by Collarts, this award recognises the best title from the MIFF Schools program, as selected by a jury comprised of the winners of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s Top Screen.
This year’s jury includes Fynn Williams, Gabe Hartshorne and Jasmine Lui. Click here for more information.