Alternativa Film Project, a global non-profit film initiative, founded by global mobility company inDrive, is hosting the second edition of its nomadic Alternativa Film Awards, set to take place in Indonesia in late November 2024. This prestigious event aims to recognise the social impact of films from developing countries, and as part of an expanded programme for 2024, a new Festival showcase will be launched alongside the awards in Indonesia and features public screenings of all shortlisted films from the nominees.
The move to Indonesia follows the successful inaugural edition of the Alternativa Film Project in 2023 held in Kazakhstan¹, expanding its focus to the Indonesian and South East Asian market. The Awards are now open for submissions from 17th June until 18th August. Filmmakers from all Asian countries are invited to submit feature films, documentaries, animation and hybrid films for the competition. For the short film category, entries will be accepted exclusively from South East Asia. Full submission criteria can be found here: https://filmfreeway.com/alternativa_film_awards
The winners for the Alternativa Film Awards will be chosen by an International Jury consisting of film directors and producers from Asia and other regions, community leaders and NGO representatives. The Awards recognises visionary professionals who create impactful films, offering them global visibility and reach. This initiative acknowledges films that not only exhibit artistic excellence but also addresses significant social and cultural topics, aiming to positively impact lives of people and local communities.
The total prize fund stands at $100,000, with $20,000 each awarded in the four full-length categories, and $10,000 each for the two winners in the Shorts Awards category. This monetary prize will be presented by the jury to the winners for them to spend on either an impact campaign or further development of their filmmaking skills.
The new accompanying Festival showcasing all the shortlisted nominated titles will run throughout the week leading up to the November ceremony and marks an evolution of the project within Alternativa’s film initiative – which includes the education and mentoring Outreach via Alternativa Film Labs². This expansion aligns with Alternativa’s nomadic nature and with each edition, the initiative aims to increase its geographical footprint and ongoing tangible support for filmmakers.
Liza Surganova, Head of Alternativa Film Project, says, “The Alternativa Film Awards serve as a tool to support the development of local film industries – by celebrating filmmakers from underrepresented communities who have important stories to tell and that have the potential to impact the cultural and social landscape. Cinema is a powerful way to create change and the ambition of Alternativa is not only to challenge injustices in the film industry, but to bring about real progress in the world – which is why it’s also so important to share the shortlisted films with the public through our new Festival initiative.
As we bring Alternativa to a new market each year and build initiatives which continue year on year in each of our locations, we hope this nomadic approach will enable us to engage a wider international audience. We’re so proud of the success stories coming out of our first edition, and we can’t wait to grow our work across Indonesia and the wider region.”
