Announcing The Whickers’ Film & TV Funding Award Finalists 2022
We are thrilled to announce our 2022 Film & TV Funding Award finalists! Take a look below at the five extraordinary projects in the running to win our coveted annual Funding Award.
The finalists were selected by an esteemed judging panel of documentary commissioners, international distributors and filmmakers, and will present their projects at The Whickers Pitch on Sunday 26th June at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2022. The winner will receive £100,000 towards the making of their film, and a runner-up will be awarded a £20,000 development fund.
Jane Ray, Artistic Director at The Whickers, said of this year’s finalists:
“It has been another stellar year for The Whickers. Applications were up again by another 15% and the range of countries has also increased. We were excited to receive our first submissions from Nigeria, Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, Panama, Estonia and Eswatina, which I used to think of as Swaziland. More to the point, the quality has also increased making life initially more interesting but ultimately more hellish for our judges, as they struggled to whittle the longest of long lists down to just five finalists, but what a five. The Whickers Pitch, which is back on stage for the first time is three years, will transport you deep into the minds of Cameroonian children rescued from Boko Haram, to a birthday party for Hoolock Gibbons in Assam, to some remarkable women still cheer leading in the rubble of war torn Ukraine. We have a brave director uncovering shocking truths and challenging false memories in his own past to another hilariously perplexed by two mountains on her chest. Each one exhibits a rare combination of strong narrative storytelling and a compelling cinematic sensibility. Each one is both unique and universal. With this year’s top prize rising from 80 to 100 thousand pounds, the stakes could not be more high or the decision more hard.
The 29th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest will take place in-person, bringing the documentary community and audiences back to Sheffield between 23 – 28 June 2022. Industry Passes and tickets are now available and can be purchased HERE.