NEWS

YDA 2020: Call for Entries

Young Director Award 2020 entries are now OPEN!
Get your entries in before April 1 to make the most of our Early Bird discount.
This year we are introducing 2 new categories:


NEW FOR 2020: Best Use of Humour

Whether the style is situational, political, nuanced linguistic or flat out slapstick, 2020 will see the Young Director Award celebrate advertising’s sense of humour. Alongside special presentations at the YDA ceremony in June, this year we are also adding the Best Use of Humour category to the YDA. Humour has been used to sell everything from beer to beds, from peanuts to political parties, and we want to see the best, most creative and, of course, funniest uses of comedy for 2020.
Register to Enter Best Use of Humour


NEW FOR 2020: Dreampitch

Directors are at the heart of what the YDA is about, but many of those directors would be lost without the scripts from which they work. This year we want to open the floor to these young creatives and scriptwriters with the introduction of our new category, Dreampitch.

At the centre of every good film is a great idea that has come ahead of anything else, and a truly great idea doesn’t need an essay to explain it.

In 2020 we’re looking for great ideas that can be pitched in a maximum of 100 words; words which will inspire our international jury of industry experts and creatives, and could go on to attract the attention of an agency/brand/streaming platform/producer and, of course, a director.
You can enter Dreampitch ideas for the following sub categories:

  • Changing the World Frame by Frame
  • Branded Film (of any length)
  • Short Film
  • Series

Register to Enter Your Dreampitch


YDA Producer’s Award 2020

This year, we are changing the way the Producer’s Award works. As a reminder, this award celebrates the production company who has contributed the most to developing young directorial talent. Production companies will no longer have to submit a reel to enter; all production houses (excluding educational institutions) that have submitted work to any of the YDA 2020 categories will automatically be entered for the award. The winner will then be decided based on the points awarded for entries they are credited on, across ALL their entries:

  • 2 points for each shortlisted entry
  • 5 points for each Silver winner
  • 8 points for each Gold winner
  • 10 points for the Special Jury award.
  • The entrant with the highest total score will be given the YDA Producer’s Award 2020.

Register Now to Create an Entry

View all YDA 2020 categories

The Young Director Award Ceremony will take place on 25th June 2020 in Cannes.

Other News

Searchlight: Pensacola

Pau Suris and Pau Dalmases maybe still students at NYU but already they have been  More…

Searchlight: Niall O’Brien

Niall O’Brien’s latest commercial for Persil is a far cry from his earlier edgy photography  More…

Sign me up : Sandin Puce

The European Film School category is perhaps the most exciting category of the Young Director  More…

Searchlight: Emile Rafael

Since introducing Emile Rafael on the YDA site last year, he has been signed to  More…

Sign me up: Mohamed Gaafar

New director Mohamed Gaafar has lived in many places around the world but returned to  More…

Sign me up: Jakob Rørvik

Norwegian Jakob Rørvik has a distinctive eye for creating a film narrative in an unusual  More…