Despite the pandemic, this year young filmmakers are very motivated to take on the challenge and produce films for the competition. Not only a record amount of submissions was sent in, but are more interesting insights about the competition.

For this year’s edition we are not only focused on creating the most supporting environment for the aspiring talents, but we are determined to share the best production practises with the finalists, and equip you with all needed measures to make your sets in line with the idea of sustainable production.

It seems that working in teams is getting more popular this year than ever before but the most exciting fact for us is that the submissions appeared to be gender-equal.
For 1645 treatments sent, we got 525 works submitted in duos and almost 50% of the scripts were sent by women.
The submissions came from 35 different countries, including United Kingdom, United States, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Portugal, Sweden, New Zealand and more.

Contestants submitted their work anonymously, so that each person applying, have equal chances to get noticed. The only guidelines are talent and unique perspective showcased it their treatments. 

For the 8th edition Papaya Young Directors have gathered very impressive and numerous jury, inviting creatives from the full range of advertising agencies, film distributors, experienced directors, cinematographers and writers, as well as individuals engaged in culture and film industries. You can check the full list of people reading your treatments here: https://www.papayayoungdirectors.com/award-committeee
BUT we still have some news to share on this, as some more people from around the world are joining the jury.

This is it for now — fingers crossed for all the contestants and the jury members, who will spend some sleepless nights with the scripts you sent.

Semi-finalists will be announced on April 7th.

DIG INTO OUR CONTENT LIBRARY AND GET INSPIRED!