In light of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and a last-minute surge in entries, the entry period of YDA 2020 has been extended. The deadline for YDA submissions is now Friday, June 5 2020.
YDA is going ahead this year as an online event. Its international jury of top producers, creatives, directors and entertainment industry professionals will complete judging remotely. The winners will be announced and celebrated via an online broadcast in July.
“We believe that it is in all of our best interests to continue with YDA 2020 during these uncertain times to support and promote the young talent who are the future of our industries, and we’re excited to share their work with the world,” YDA stated.
There are 16 categories across YDA 2020, covering the majority of filmmaking styles and formats. Two of these are new categories: Best Use of Humour celebrates storytelling through humour; Dreampitch, a new type of category, celebrates great ideas that are yet to be made into films.
This year’s Producers Award works differently to previous years. This award celebrates the production company who has contributed the most to developing young directorial talent over the last year. 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 of their entries.
See the YDA full list of categories for more information.
The organisation’s Covid-19 lockdown initiative, Creation In Isolation, closed on Friday May 22, but favourite submissions are still being posted on social media.
The first episode of new series, YDA Chats, in which 2020 jury chairman, Karim Bartoletti, chats to previous winners about their experience of the YDA and their careers since, has been published. First up is Vincent Lambe, winner of the 2018 Special Jury Award, 2019 Oscar-nominee and member of the 2020 YDA Jury. See the interview on IGTV @youngdirectoraward or the YDA YouTube channel.
