D&AD Next Director Award Judge's List Announced

D&AD is announcing the Judge’s final list for the first ever D&AD Next Director Award - a brand new award in partnership with YouTube and supported by MOFILM.

In the third and final round of judging last week, 10 films were added to the shortlist bringing the final total to 33 films. These films will now be screened across the world.

From this shortlist one individual will be awarded the title of D&AD Next Director 2015. The winner will be announced on 21st May at the D&AD Awards Ceremony in London.

The Next Director Award has been created to unearth the best new directorial talent and promote it back to the industry.

The third round of the award, which took place at D&AD Judging Week 2015, was judged by some of the industry’s leading lights including; Laura Gregory (Great Guns), Tom Seymour (Google Creative Lab), Sean Thomson (freelance writer/director) Juliette Larthe (PRETTYBIRD UK) and directors Johnny Hardstaff (Academy), Tom Tagholm (Park Pictures) and Dougal Wilson (Blink Productions).

Both the winner and shortlisted directors will get incredible exposure at international screenings and through the D&AD and YouTube platforms. They will also receive mentoring from high profile filmmakers and top production companies including; Partizan, RSA Films, Great Guns, Rattling Stick and many more.

In addition, all shortlisted directors will receive a production grant from MOFILM to work on a commissioned brief. And the winner will be offered tickets and flights to attend the D&AD Awards Ceremony in May 2015 and will be included in the D&AD Annual.

Entries include:

Alex Grigg, ‘Phantom Limb’ – An animation focusing on a man who is suffering from Phantom Limb Sydrome, despite his body being intact, and the cruel tricks his mind plays on him.

NaiWai Liu, ‘Something Important’ – In this 2D animation, we’re presented with the filmmaker’s personal journey of self-discovery woven as a tapestry of his memories.

Henry Kaplan, (one of our unsigned Scout directors) ‘Get better boss’ – This music video tells the tale of an ageing gangland boss in his final days with his disrespectful “staff” vying for his position.

For the full list of films and directors shortlisted following this third round please see editors notes below.

Laura Gregory, Foreman for the Next Director Award and founder of Great Guns said of her time judging:

“The responsibility of recognising talent new to directing weighed heavily on our collective subconscious.”

“It was a joy: fresh work, some not so polished - but unlike other awards I’ve served on over the last three years, I can honestly say there was not one ‘stinker’ in the mix.”

“Thanks D&AD for a hell of a ride, enjoyed by me and all the wonderful judges who gave their time and care to provide global talent new to directing the support needed to help make their careers. It’s been a page in my diary I’ll never tear out.”

Juliette Larthe, Next Director Award Judge and founder of PRETTYBIRD UK, added:

 "The playing field is wide open. I don’t think the goalposts are fixed anywhere…I can’t wait for next year when we’ll see more interactivity and we’ll start seeing virtual reality."

D&AD are hosting a screening of the shortlisted films on Thursday 14 May at The Mill in London.

To find out more about the Next Director Award, including the jury and a full list of prizes, visit the website.

For a short video interview with Juliette Larthe, please visit the youtube page here.