ConnectHER Film Festival Awards 2025 ($5,000 grant) – YOA

Deadline: October 1, 2025

Applications are open for the ConnectHER Film Festival Awards 2025. The ConnectHER Film Festival welcomes submissions that concentrate on points impacting the lives of ladies and women, with a particular emphasis on amplifying BIPOC voices.

Films—whether or not animated, documentary, or narrative—should discover a number of of the next themes, all centered round girls’s and women’ points: limitations to training, entry to training, management, digital inclusion, gender inequality, menstrual well being, maternal and psychological well being, international well being, financial inequality and empowerment (together with the casual sector), poverty, meals entry/insecurity, political enfranchisement and energy, local weather motion and environmental points, refugees/IDPs, and the influence of battle and battle. These themes align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, reflecting their dedication to addressing pressing international challenges by means of movie.

Highlighting tales of resilience is strongly inspired for the ConnectHER Film Festival. Your movie has the facility to encourage, uplift, and showcase the power of people and communities world wide—demonstrating that even within the face of adversity, impactful tales and options can emerge. Join in celebrating narratives that empower, encourage, and contribute to a brighter future.

Award Categories

• Judges’ Choice: The Judges’ Choice Award is the highest recognition given to an excellent narrative, documentary, and/or animated movie, rigorously chosen from amongst all classes by the esteemed panel of judges. The judges single out this movie for its distinctive qualities, making it stand out for its general excellence in storytelling, creativity, and cinematic achievement. Winners will obtain $5,000. 1st runner up will obtain $2,500.
• Best Documentary: Introduced in 2024, the Best Documentary Award acknowledges distinctive filmmaking that skillfully captures true and impactful tales about people influencing the lives of ladies and women throughout the specified themes listed above. This award celebrates the facility of documentaries to make clear compelling tales, contributing to a broader understanding of the problems at hand. Winners will obtain $2,500.
• Best Narrative: Introduced in 2024, the Best Narrative Award acknowledges excellent fictional storytelling in movie. This recognition celebrates a movie that crafts a scripted narrative by means of compelling characters. The successful movie stands out for its narrative excellence and skill to weave participating tales throughout the specified themes listed above. Winners will obtain $2,500.
• Best Animation: Introduced in 2024, this award acknowledges the very best animated movie that addresses points and options impacting girls and women throughout the specified themes listed above. The award celebrates creativity and ability in any type of animation or cease movement, highlighting modern storytelling and visible artistry. Winners will obtain $2,500.
• People’s Choice: The judges will choose three finalists from the highest ten movies throughout all classes, with essentially the most votes within the on-line viewers gallery, and the last word winner shall be decided from these three finalists. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Global Impact: The Global Impact Award was created to acknowledge a movie that identifies inequalities and injustices affecting girls and women world wide. They are on the lookout for movies that deal with the problems listed above whereas additionally shining a lightweight on an modern answer – a neighborhood chief or a group-primarily based answer. ConnectHER Film Festival is exclusive in that they prioritize movies which are making an influence. Typically, essentially the most profitable movies on this class introduce an issue or situation by specializing in an modern answer and/or the resilience of the topic/s. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Stand Up Men: The Stand-Up Men Award acknowledges a movie that celebrates males as a topic or filmmakers themselves who’re taking a stand for ladies’s rights. They need to begin a dialog about males who’re going above and past by taking a stand in opposition to the oppression of ladies globally by addressing the above points. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Women & Work: The Women and Work Award acknowledges a movie that shines a lightweight on girls’s livelihood and office points. These are tales about how girls relate to work – in each formal and casual sectors. This class covers points reminiscent of: equal pay, livelihood coaching, monetary independence, historic and cultural limitations to girls within the office, childcare, STEAM careers and training, and girls’s underrepresentation within the prime ranks of management. The Women & Work Award winner is chosen by the Gems, a gaggle of sustaining donors to ConnectHER. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Educating Girls: According to the UN, there are 129 million women out of faculty world wide, and solely 49% of nations have achieved gender parity in major training. The Educating Girls Award acknowledges a brief movie that tells a narrative about educating women and girls – from limitations to successes. This award is offered by WomenServe. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Women & Health: Through this award, we goal to highlight filmmakers whose work contributes considerably to advancing dialogue and understanding round very important international well being points and well being fairness. This class covers points reminiscent of: maternal well being, psychological well being, menstrual well being, toddler mortality, limitations to healthcare entry in distant or underserved communities, eradicating infectious ailments, water high quality and sanitation, and malnutrition and meals insecurity — whereas recognizing that well being fairness is deeply linked to training, poverty, gender justice, and monetary independence. This award is offered by Invest in Her Foundation. Winner will obtain $2,500.
• Women & the Environment: The Women & the Environment Award acknowledges a brief movie that shines a lightweight on Environmental points that influence girls and women globally — and considers options, be they local weather adaptation, indigenous practices or girls cultivating the land and sustaining the oceans, and displacement and migration methods. Winner will obtain $2,500.

Eligibility

• Films should concentrate on one of many subject areas. 
• They settle for each kind of filmmaking kind and magnificence; whether or not animation or dwell-motion, documentary or narrative.
• Filmmakers should be 13 to 25 years previous on the submission date. That implies that scripts, storyboards, directing, cinematography, enhancing, and so forth., should be carried out by individuals who meet this age requirement. Actors might be any age.
• Films should be authentic works that haven’t but been screened at different main movie festivals.
• Films will need to have been accomplished after January 1, 2025.
• Films should be 3 to six minutes lengthy.
• Film file codecs accepted are .mov and .mp4. HD decision and optimized sound high quality are extremely most popular. Digital submission by means of Google Drive is most popular, however Dropbox additionally works.
• All individuals should adhere to the next file naming format when submitting supplies: 
  • Portrait/Headshot File: Must be named utilizing the participant’s first and final identify, formatted as: FirstName_LastName (e.g. Jane_Doe.jpg).
    • Film File: Must be named utilizing the movie title adopted by the names of all filmmakers, formatted as: Title_by_FilmmakersNames_Country (e.g., Sunrise_by_JaneDoe_JohnSmith_AmyLee_UnitedKingdom.mp4).
    Submissions that don’t comply with this naming conference could also be disqualified or returned for correction.
• Viewers like to see and find out about native organizations which are engaged on options! At the top of your movie, embody a graphic that highlights two native/nationwide/regional group names & logos which are working to resolve the problem or drawback addressed in your movie.
• All movies should be subtitled in English.
• Films should be submitted by the deadline to qualify. No late submissions shall be accepted.
• If your movie incorporates any graphic content material, embody a warning close to the start of the movie. ConnectHER has full discretion in accepting movies, significantly in cases the place movie submissions comprise nudity, profanity, violence, or sexually express content material.
• PowerPoints is not going to be accepted. Films will need to have some cinematic worth.

Evaluation Criteria

• Alignment with the award classes
• Clarity and influence of the message
• Creativity in presentation
• Cinematography and enhancing
• Screenplay writing

Application

Click here to apply

For extra info, see FAQ and go to ConnectHER Film Festival.