The FilmLight Colour Awards, in co-operation with ToruńCAMERIMAGE, has officially opened its sixth edition, calling for entries to celebrate the craft of colour grading. This year’s competition sees the introduction of several changes, designed to bring a sharper focus to the creative minds behind the world’s most visually striking projects.
Entries are open to colourists working on any grading platform, with a final submission deadline of 31 July 2026.
Spotlight on Independents and Documentaries
Reflecting a core mission to support independent cinema, the Spotlight category has been renamed and expanded to ‘Spotlight & Documentary’. The aim is to actively encourage and amplify non-fiction submissions, celebrating the critical role colourists play in carving out the visual identities of both low-budget narratives and real-world stories. Key criteria for this category include a total production budget of less than $3 million USD and a minimum duration of 70 minutes for feature films and 50 minutes for documentaries.
In total, the 2026 awards will honour outstanding work across five categories:
- Theatrical Feature
- TV Series / Episodic
- Commercial
- Spotlight & Documentary
- Emerging Talent – for music video or commercial projects from colourists aged 18-30 with no more than 5 years of professional experience.
Industry Recognition
Reflecting on the growing stature of the craft, acclaimed director and 2025 Jury Guest of Honour, Park Chan-wook, noted: “In the process of making a film, the role of the colourist has become increasingly important and everyone recognises that reality. Yet despite that awareness they have been very few awards like this. That has always felt unfortunate, so I am truly glad such recognition now exists.”
All submissions will be independently evaluated by an esteemed global jury of celebrated cinematographers, colourists, and industry experts. The 2026 winners will be unveiled and showcased this November at a dedicated ceremony during the ToruńCAMERIMAGE festival.
Less than one month left to submit
With less than one month remaining before entries close on 31 July 2026, colourists and production facilities are encouraged to submit their work soon.
The awards are led and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with ToruńCAMERIMAGE. It’s also supported by the AFC (French Society of Cinematographers), AMC (Mexican Society of Cinematographers), ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), BSC (British Society of Cinematographers), BVK (German Society of Cinematographers), CNSC (Chinese Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colourist Society International), ISC (Indian Society of Cinematographers), ShotDeck (fully-searchable cinematic image library), and more.