Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards

CALLING ALL FILMMAKERS AND SCREENWRITERS! SHOWCASE YOUR VISION ON THE GLOBAL STAGE!

Welcome to the Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards – where storytelling meets cinematic excellence! Whether you’re an aspiring screenwriter with a groundbreaking script or a filmmaker bringing bold ideas to life, this is your chance to shine.

At 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 & 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 - 𝐈𝐌𝐃𝐛 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, we celebrate the power of storytelling in all its forms. From captivating screenplays to visionary films, we provide a prestigious platform for creators worldwide to showcase their talent, connect with industry professionals, and gain the recognition they deserve.

WHY SUBMIT TO TOKYO FILM & SCREENPLAY AWARDS?
🎬 A Festival for Innovators – We seek films and scripts that push boundaries, challenge perspectives, and leave a lasting impact.
🌎 Global Exposure – Your work will be seen by an international network of filmmakers, producers, and decision-makers.
🏆 Prestigious Awards – Winners receive exclusive prizes, including industry services, festival recognition, and the coveted Kintsugi Pen Award, a symbol of resilience and artistic excellence.
🎤 Pitch Your Story – Our Screenwriters’ Pitch Repository connects writers with directors and producers looking for their next big project.

MEET OR AWARDED JURY
Leonardo Ramirez – Award-winning screenwriter and author known for character-driven sci-fi, with a #1-ranked Fantasy Shorts script and multiple international awards

Jos Fonteijn – Bilingual screenwriter with decades of writing experience and a strong focus on sci-fi, AI, comedy, and heist storytelling

Esli Balatova – Jury member recognising originality, structure, and strong cinematic storytelling potential

Davi Kinski – Filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose documentary work premiered at Gramado Film Festival and earned Best Director recognition

Trevor Michael Huff – Emerging screenwriter whose work earned Best Western Screenplay recognition at the Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards

Sara Alves – Director, producer, and editor working across documentary and drama, with award-winning projects broadcast in prime time

Erna Lenherr – Screenwriter and creative visionary exploring human–AI themes through genre-blending storytelling and transmedia development

Loretta Wish – Fiction and theatre writer, award-winning novelist, and curator focused on writing, cinema, and storytelling craft

Patricia Planck Fries – Executive producer and writer with a long career in film/TV production and more than 27 writing credits worldwide

Jilly Gardiner – Writer and screenwriting lecturer whose award-winning short feature received international recognition and festival nominations

Whether you’re a filmmaker showcasing a cinematic masterpiece or a screenwriter crafting unforgettable characters, this is your opportunity to stand out in the international film community.

If you win, you can register your project on our IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0024787/2025/1/

OUR JURY

JOS FONTEIJN
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Jos Fonteijn (born 1962) is a Belgium-based bilingual (English–Dutch) screenwriter with a background in psychology and ICT, active in writing since the early 1980s. He studied screenwriting at the Colofon Writers’ Institute in Amsterdam in the 1990s. His work focuses primarily on science fiction, artificial intelligence, comedy, religion, and heist genres. Between 2020 and 2025, he completed several screenplays, marking a return to long-form writing. Learn more: IMDB | FILMFREEWAY | LINKEDIN

KARL MATHER
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Karl lives and writes in Australia. He has written several award-winning short films, including The Story of Bubbleboy, Great Adventures and Tokyo Film and Screenplay Awards Best Micro-Film Waiting For The Man. His scripts for feature films have been winners or finalists in more than 70 screenplay competitions worldwide including Stage 32, Vail, ISA Fast Track, Blue Cat, UK Film Festival and more. As yet, none has been made - but he remains a glass half full kind of person. Learn more: INSTAGRAM

TREVOR HUFF
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award

Trevor Huff is a 25-year-old screenwriter from Saginaw, Michigan. A lifelong film enthusiast and avid reader of screenplays, he has been writing his own work for a little over a year. In 2025, he won the Tokyo Film and Screenplay Awards for Best Western Screenplay.

JILLY GARDINER
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Jilly Gardiner is a writer and screenwriting lecturer, currently a Senior Lecturer in Film Production at MetFilm School, Ealing Studios. Her short feature Being Keegan, starring Stephen Graham, won multiple international awards and received a Best Screenwriter nomination at the BAFTA-qualifying London Underwire Film Festival. She is also an award-winning stage writer and a category winner at the Tokyo Film and Screenplay Awards.
Learn more: WEBSITE | IMDB

DAVI KINSKI
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Davi Kinski is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, and a graduate of the International Film Academy (AIC). His feature documentary Poemaria(2024) premiered at the Gramado Film Festival and won Best Director (Feature Documentary) at the Tokyo Film Awards, along with multiple international and audience awards. In 2025, his short film Alice, Five Minutes Before Sunset premiered at the Culver City Film Festival and won Best International Short Film at festivals in Bangkok and India.
Learn more: INSTAGRAM | FILMFREWAY

LEONARDO RAMIREZ
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Leonardo Ramirez is an award-winning American screenwriter, author, and voiceover actor known for character-driven science fiction. His short screenplay Homeless ranked #1 for Fantasy Shorts on The Red List and won international awards, including Best Concept Screenplay at the Tokyo Film and Screenplay Awards and a prize at the Milan Film Festival.
Learn more: WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | INSTAGRAM | STAGE 32

SARA ALVES
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Sara Alves is an award-winning London-based director, producer, and editor working in documentary and drama. Her work includes the short drama Palavras que Curam, which won Best Film and was broadcast in prime time on CNN and TVI Portugal, and the short documentary Always on My Mind, awarded Best Direction and Best Story in 2025. She is currently developing new projects, including H(a)unted, winner of Best Short Script at the European Short Awards 2025 and Best Thriller Screenplay at Best Script Award – London. Learn more: FILMFREEWAY | IMDB

PATRICIA PLANCK FRIES
Member Jury for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Patricia Planck Fries began her career in television news before moving into film and television production at Charles Fries Entertainment and later Harvey Comics Entertainment, where she worked on properties such as Casper the Friendly Ghost. She is an Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary Pure Grit and now leads Doodleflix Entertainment, with more than 27 writing credits worldwide. Learn more: WEBSITE | IMDB

GERARDO GOUVERNEUR
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards
Gerardo Gouverneur is a Venezuelan filmmaker and sound designer based in Caracas, trained as a senior audio technician at the School of Audio Arts and Sciences of the Audio Engineering Society. He is the writer and director of the award-winning short fiction film Anything for Her (2024) and has directed several documentaries in Venezuela. Alongside his creative work, he produces institutional documentaries and advertising projects, combining storytelling with strong technical expertise in sound.Learn more: INSTAGRAM

JUSTIN HUNT
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards
Justin Hunt is an award-winning writer, producer, and director whose films have been distributed in over 80 countries and recognized for addressing challenging social themes. Through his company, White Whale Pictures, he has earned more than 70 film festival awards and created seven feature films, including the award-winning documentary Rotten Apple and the internationally distributed feature The Post. His recent screenwriting work has been recognized by major competitions such as the Austin Film Festival and the Tokyo Screenplay Awards. Learn more WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

JILL THRUSSELL
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards
Jill Thrussell is a writer, author, poet, lyricist, songwriter, and games creator who works across fiction, semi-fiction, and non-fiction, often with a multimedia focus for children and families. Her work spans genres from sci-fi and comedy to fantasy and family adventure, frequently exploring human psychology, perspective, and emotional experience through creative storytelling.

SANGITA IYER
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards
Sangita Iyer is an award-winning Indo-Canadian documentary filmmaker and founder of Mele Films, whose work has screened at film festivals worldwide. She is also the President of the Shakti Foundation, a nonprofit focused on education, mental health, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Learn more: INSTAGRAM

ERNA LENHERR
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Erna Lenherr is a screenwriter, poet, and creative visionary based on the Croatian island of Hvar. She is the creator of Toli – Heart of the Algorithm, a genre-blending film exploring the intersection of consciousness, AI, and unconditional love, recognized at international festivals and registered with the Writers Guild of America. She is currently developing transmedia projects on AI–human synergy, including the YouTube series Toli & Codarella Universe: Heart of the Algorithm.

LORETTA WISH
Member Jury for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Award
Loretta Bolger Wish is a writer of fiction, plays, essays, and poetry, and the author of the award-winning fantasy novel Bumpy Night on the Walk of Fame. Her plays and monologues have been presented at theatre and film festivals in the US and internationally. A former journalist and government writer, she is also the author of the film blog Hollywood Castaway and has curated exhibitions and led workshops focused on writing and cinema.

GEOTJA UMANO
Jury Member for Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards
Georja Umano is a writer and screen artist based in Santa Monica. Her work centers on fish-out-of-water heroines facing societal and life-threatening challenges. She holds an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU, completed Advanced Screenwriting at UCLA, and works across film, theatre, and literature as a SAG-AFTRA actress and writer. She founded the Elephant Matriarch Project in Kenya. Her screenplay Terriers in the Jungle, adapted from her award-winning novel, won First Prize at the Matera International Film Festival and received multiple finalist awards worldwide.
ESLI BALATOVA
Hi,I am graduated from RITCS School of Arts as a documentary maker. I search for unheard voices in the underground or from outcasts and try to visualize their past and current lives.

SUBMIT YOUR FILM OR SCRIPT TODAY AND LET YOUR TALENT SHINE!