Winners announced for the BFI Future Film Festival awards 2025

The BFI Future Film Festival Awards 2025, supported by Netflix, took place on Sunday, with the winners announced online via YouTube and in person at BFI Southbank.  

The talented young filmmakers aged 16 to 25 that took home prizes included Eve Grant (Best New Talent and Best Writer for Heavy), Andrea Adame and Paula Trejo Espado (Best Film and Best International Film for Red Lace), and Shane Chung (Best Director and International Special Mention for Check Please). 

Three of these awards were judged by the BFI’s esteemed festival jury, who announced their choices at tonight’s ceremony, comprised of filmmakers Baff Akoto (producer of Queen of Glory), Daisy-May Hudson (director of Holloway), Eloïse King (director of The Shadow Scholars) and Pinny Grylls (director of Grand Theft Hamlet). 

Further awards presented during the ceremony, all judged by industry experts, included the winners Song Ye (Best Animation for Unrecognized Character Detected), Rana Wael Matar (Best Documentary for Your Voice Only), Joel Claudio (Best Experimental Film for Rebirth) and Shuqi Li (Best Micro Short for Over There). The winners were awarded prizes worth more than £15,000, BFI Player subscriptions and mentorships from industry leaders. The awards were hosted by Elle Osili-Wood. 

The festival’s online programme is available to watch now on the BFI Youtube channel.