The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has unveiled the jury for this year’s $140,000 Bright Horizons Award while announcing the nominees for the newly named Uncle Jack Charles Award.
Filmmaker Ivan Sen will serve as jury president, overseeing a panel comprising US writer/director, David Lowery, Academy Award-winning costume designer Deborah Scott, actress, Jillian Nguyen, and Indonesian film producer Yulia Evina Bhara.
Competing for the prize, which is awarded to a first or second-time filmmaker, are Charles Williams’ Victorian-shot feature debut Inside, India Donaldson’s feature debut Good One, English filmmaker Luna Carmoon’s drama Hoard, US playwright Annie Baker’s debut Janet Planet, Belgian director Leonardo Van Dijl’s Julie Keeps Quiet, Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ena Sendijarević’s Sweet Dreams, Canadian writer/director Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language, Mo Harawe’s Somali drama The Village Next to Paradise, Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis’ feature animation Flow, and Zambian-Welsh writer/director Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.
The Bright Horizons jury – including its international members – will each attend the festival to meet and deliberate in person, before presenting their chosen category winners on stage at the annual MIFF Awards ceremony on Saturday 24 August at Rydges Melbourne.
MIFF artistic director Al Cossar said Bright Horizons was “the place to go for auteurs on the ascent”.
“Presided over by an esteemed Jury of attending cinema visionaries from all around the world, the competition again presents some of the year’s most essential and anticipated moviegoing,” he said.
“Bright Horizons’ 2024 edition is set to celebrate those new voices set to become major talents and the future of filmmaking itself.”
This year’s MIFF Awards will also include the first presentation of the Uncle Jack Charles Award, formerly the First Nations Film Creative Award, renamed in honour of the celebrated First Nations actor, author, and activist who passed away in 2022.
The nominees vying for the $20,000 cash prize and $25,000 worth of financial services provided by Kearney Group are The Moogai writer/director Jon Bell, Voice co-director Semara Jose, Like My Brother director Danielle MacLean, Magic Beach director/writer/animator Jake Duczynski, and kajoo yannaga (come on let’s walk together) director April Phillips.
VicScreen production executive Davey Thompson, Kamilaroi actor and writer Thomas Weatherall, and Anmatyerr film veteran and producer, Trisha Morton-Thomas, will determine this year’s chosen creative.
Thompson said it was an honour to be part of this year’s jury.
“I’m so excited by the range of First Nations Australian storytellers using film and extended reality formats,” he said.
“Thanks to MIFF and the Kearney Group for establishing this Award in recognition of Uncle Jack Charles.”
Of the other prizes, the $70,000 Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award returns to recognise a director or a technical or creative lead. This year’s field comprises Flathead director Jaydon Martin, Us and the Night director Audrey Lam, The Demon Disorder VFX executive producer Steven Boyle, and Memoir of a Snail director Adam Elliot. The winner will be chosen by the Bright Horizons Jury.
Before the MIFF Awards, there will be the announcement of the MIFF Shorts Awards winners, presented by a jury consisting of writer, director, and former TV journalist Beck Cole; COO at Mushroom Studios COO, entertainment lawyer, and producer Bethany Jones; and artist, film director, performance-maker, writer, and artistic director of Back to Back Theatre Bruce Gladwin.
MIFF’s Audience Award and MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award will also return as part of the festival, which runs August 8-25.
Find out more information here.