ADFEST is looking for new and emerging directors to step up and take the stage at ADFEST 2024 as one of the Fabulous Five New Directors. “Fabulous Five New Directors Lotus Award is unique to ADFEST and reflects our commitment to nurturing and championing new creative talent in the region. It stands side by side with ADFEST’s iconic Young Lotus Award”, says Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST.

If you’re an Assistant Director or Director based in Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East, and have started your Directorial debut in the past 2 years (after March 2022), this is the perfect opportunity for you to catapult your Directorial career and showcase your talent on a regional stage.

For the chance to become a Fabulous Five New Director, eligible Directors need to submit a script for a 5-minute short film inspired by ADFEST’s 2024 theme “Human Intelligence.” If your script is one of the top five scripts as voted by ADFEST’s Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus jury, you will be asked to direct the short film of the submitted script and debut your film at ADFEST 2024, held Thursday 21 – Saturday 23 March 2024. All Fabulous Five directors will be flown to Thailand to premiere and discuss their films on stage. ADFEST will provide return economy airfare, ground transportation, accommodation, and a full delegate registration to ADFEST 2024.

In addition, all Fabulous Five films will be automatically accepted for the Young Director Award (YDA).  As The Short Films for ADFEST 2024 by the Fabulous Five is part of the New Director Award, for the first time ever 2 additional New Director Lotus winners will also be accepted to YDA.

“I firmly believe that the cultural lens through which we observe and interpret life is an invaluable asset. We are thrilled to introduce the unique perspective of ADFEST winning directors to our international arena of jurors, providing them with additional opportunities for worldwide recognition. YDA is committed to providing exclusive support to emerging young talent, and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the new Fabulous Five.,” says Francois Chilot, President of the Young Director Award.

Two Fabulous Five New Directors were awarded at Young Director Award 2023, with “Escape Lockers” by Yuriko Minami of FIELD MANAGEMENT EXPAND Inc.receiving Silver prize, and “Tempest” by Masashi Fukuda of Taiyo Kikaku Co., Ltd. being shortlisted. Fukuda’s “Tempest” won the Commendation Prize at ADFEST 2024.

“It was a valuable opportunity for me as a director to have my short film shown on a big screen and receive feedback from the audience. Even though there was a given theme, the process of creating an original script was a time to earnestly face myself, and it became an important moment in my career.” says Fukuda.

Minami adds, “I was happy to have so many people watch my work on the big screen and receive direct feedback at ADFEST. I also received more inquiries than ever before, such as people contacting me to ask if I was interested in overseas projects. When  I won Silver at the YDA award, I was able to attend the award ceremony in person, and it was inspiring to talk with young directors from all over the world, which led to my winning the New Director of the Year award at the shots Awards Asia Pacific. I would like to make use of this experience to further expand my career.”

For more information on eligibility and submission process to the Fabulous Five, click here. Script submission deadline is Friday 5 January 2024. For more details on other New Director Lotus categories and all Lotus Awards categories, visit www.ADFEST.com. Deadlines for Entry Submission to all other Lotus categories are Friday 15 December 2023 for the Early Bird Deadline, and Friday 12 January 2024 for the Regular Deadline.

ADFEST 2024 says HI with its theme, “Human Intelligence,” and runs from 21^st – 23^rd March 2024 at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.

ADFEST is a non-profit-making entity that believes passionately in its role to nurture and support the creative industry in the Asia Pacific and MENA region. It is one of only 8 regional creative festivals included in the WARC Creative 100 Rankings.