We're excited to announce the winners of our New Visions Short Film Competition. Open to all 15-25 year olds residing in Scotland, the competition aims to discover the newest voices in Scottish film, and celebrate their work on a global stage. 

The competition opened for submissions earlier this year, and films were viewed by EIFF’s Youth Advisory Group – a group of local 19-25 year olds who help curate the Festival’s youth programme. They chose a shortlist of 8 films that were then passed to three film industry professionals to decide the winning films.   

The shortlisted films were screened in a special showcase hosted by the Youth Advisory Group on Sunday 14 August at Filmhouse, as part of the EIFF Youth Takeover Day.   The awards were announced after the screening, with the winning film makers on hand to receive their prize and trophy. 

Each winning film making team received a voucher for film making equipment worth £1,500 from Procam Take 2, the leading digital cinematography and motion picture equipment rental facility. 

Darryl Hewat, Sales Director at Scotland, Procam Take 2 has said: 

“Congratulations to all the winners and nominees of the EIFF New Visions Short Film Competition 2022. As a company dedicated to supporting emerging filmmakers, we are delighted to be supplying equipment rental prizes for upcoming Scottish talent. We look forward to working closely with the winners to help bring their next stories to life.” 

Yvonne Gordon, Head of Community Engagement and Learning at EIFF said:  

“Our New Visions competition has done it again! Despite the challenges of the last two years, talented young people have found a way to be creative and use film in all its forms to tell their stories.  I was really impressed by the quality and ambition of the work submitted.  Congratulations to all the nominees and to the award winners!  I hope they keep on telling their stories and sharing their new visions with us! 

Each winning director received a bespoke trophy, made by young Glasgow based artist Deniz Uster.  These one-off artworks were designed in consultation with the Youth Advisory Group, using recycled materials, and include models that reflect key characters and moments from each winning film. 

The awards in 3 categories were: 

  • In the category filmmakers aged 15-18 | Winner: The Fields directed by Ezra Course     
  • In the category filmmakers aged 19-25: for films made as part of a formal educational course | Winner: The Dead Cat Strategy directed by Laura Wiggett  
  • In the category filmmakers aged 19-25: for films made independently or as part of an informal course | Winner: Let the sunshine in directed by Eva Magdić Govedarica 

This year’s jury was composed of: 

  • Laura McBride: Producer at Lothian Films – an Edinburgh based film production company that champions diverse voices and women writers and directors 
  • Niamh McKeown: screenwriter & director 
  • Chloe Berger: Learning Co-ordinator, BECTU Vision 

Chloe Berger on The Fields “A really visual interesting and daring short film... The film certainly shows the artistic talent of the filmmaker and a clear ability to use the medium to depict emotions. I particularly liked the use of the score (which was brilliant!).” 

Niamh McKeown on The Dead Cat Strategy “The concept is simple, the script is funny, the two leads have great comedic instincts and the overall film is perfectly paced.  Overall, I admire the confidence that this film was made with and am looking forward to seeing what the team makes next...” 

Laura McBride on Let the sunshine in “Lovely use of different experimental cinematic techniques to paint a picture of home, belonging and identity. This was the standout film from all submissions for me.”