Young Director Award 2026
Our favourite films from this year’s selection
Still from Echoes Beneath The Hill, Gold Screen winner for the Film School (10 Mins And Over) category. Directed by Aime Octave Ishimwe and produced by Nora Essalama and the Royal Institute for Theater, Cinema and Sound.
By Curation Hour
One of the highlights of Cannes Lions each year is the Young Director Award winners screening, which we had the pleasure to attend last Thursday at Olympia Cinema, where the industry's newest voices are presented on one of its biggest stages. Now in its 29th edition, the YDA continues to do what it has always done best: offering an early glimpse of the filmmakers who will shape the future of commercial filmmaking.
What stood out this year wasn't a single visual trend or dominant aesthetic, but the sheer breadth of work. Documentary, narrative, and animation sat comfortably alongside branded content, music videos, and experimental shorts, with each film bringing a distinct authorial voice to its chosen format. Rather than following established formulas, the strongest projects shared an ability to build immersive worlds, trusting atmosphere, emotion, and visual storytelling to do the heavy lifting.
Here are a few of the films from this year's Young Director Award selection that stayed with us ever since.
Gold Screen — Branded Content
Moving Between Spaces — ASICS
Directed by Souf Kinani, Production: PINK RABBIT, Netherlands.
Watch it here.
Gold Screen — Changing The World Frame By Frame
Gold Screen — Film School (Up To 10 Mins)
Gold Screen — Passion Project
Silver Screen — Creative Use Of Sound
Losing Voices
Directed by Elias Ben Dahhou, Producer: Niklas Straub, Valentin Schneider, Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Soup Film, TPF, Germany.
Gold Screen — Changing The World Frame By Frame
Gold Screen — Passion Project
Virgin Alpha
Directed by Laura Almstrup, Producer: Mette Jermiin, Production: Slutet, Denmark.
Watch it here.
Gold Screen — Creative Use Of Sound
Yellow Pages — ELLA DOUGLAS
Directed by Tom Oliver, Producer: Frances Rollin, Production: Hidden Agency, United Kingdom.
Silver Screen — Documentary (10 Mins And Over)
Ten Feet Tall And I’m Bulletproof
Directed by Ricky Dick, Producer: Thomas Ried-Fendt, Production: INMOTION AG, Germany.
Gold Screen — Documentary (Up To 10 Mins)
The Missing Post Office
Directed by Clement Lefer, Producer: Clement Lefer, France.
Silver Screen — Creative Use Of Sound
International Klein Blue
Directed by Jan Hellwich, Producer: Yannic Kress, Marie-Estelle Laudenbach, Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Germany.
Gold Screen — Film School (Up To 10 Mins)
Sotto Il Vesuvio
Directed by Kevin Koch, Producer: Linus Kirschner, Julius Krebs, Production: urbanuncut GmbH, Germany.
Gold Screen — Film School (10 Mins And Over)
Special Mention
Echoes Beneath The Hill
Directed by Aime Octave Ishimwe, Producer: Nora Essalama, Production: Royal Institute for Theater, Cinema and Sound, Belgium.
Gold Screen — Music Video
Beat Bunny — Povoa x Madge
Directed by Tanner k Williams, Producer: Magen Ashley Young, Production: Magna Studios, United Kingdom.
Gold Screen — Animation
To My Old Nightmare
Directed by Sooyeon Shin, Producer: Sooyeon Shin, South Korea.
Not available online yet.
Shortlist — Documentary (Up To 10 Mins)
Songs of Salt
Directed by Isabella Bazoni, Producer: Isabella Bazoni, Italy, United Kingdom.
Not available online yet.
This year's Young Director Award reinforced something we've been seeing across the wider creative landscape: the most exciting filmmakers are no longer confined to a single discipline. Commercials borrow from documentary, music videos embrace contemporary art, animation tackles deeply personal themes, and branded films continue to expand the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
If these filmmakers are any indication, the future of filmmaking looks remarkably diverse, ambitious, and author-driven.
You can explore the full list of Young Director Award 2026 shortlisted films and winners on the YDA website.