Short films spotlighting war, dictatorship and cultural heritage emerged as winners at the 2025 Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, which received over 11,750 entries from more than 7,500 filmmakers across 158 countries and territories.

The top prize for Fiction went to Rossana Montoya of Colombia for My Demon, a 17-minute one-take film exploring relationship tensions during a rushed hospital journey. Juliet Klottrup (UK) won the Non-Fiction category for Travelling Home, a film on Romany Traveller heritage shot on 16mm film. Santiago O’Ryan and José Navarro (Chile) secured the Animation prize for Hermanos Casablanca, set during Chile’s Pinochet dictatorship, while Hayder Hoozeer (UK) and Franz Böhm (Germany) took the Student award with Rock Paper Scissors, a warzone drama.

Winners received US$5,000 and Sony digital imaging equipment. All shortlisted filmmakers participated in a four-day programme at Sony Pictures Studios covering cinematography, scriptwriting and industry mentorship.

Organised by Creo and sponsored by Sony, the awards return for a fourth edition in spring 2026, with submissions opening in July 2025.