FOCAL Awards 2026 - Shortlisted Nominees

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The 2026 Awards gala evening will be held on Thursday, 18 June, at the Church House Westminster, London, hosted by Ria Hebden.

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Full nominee details can be found by selecting the 'Category Title' from the list below.

Personnel Categories:

Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year Award:
Sponsored by: The Associated Press
Jackie Clary | Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately
Julieann Galdames | Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Katharine Waldrum | Boyzone: No Matter What
Nessa Dundon | The Hunt for Peter Tobin
Sophia Doe | Once Upon a Time in Space

Footage Person of the Year:
Christopher Morgan | Reuters Connect
Megan McCooley | Yorkshire and North East Film Archive
Martin Lisus | StormStock

Company of the Year:
Footage.net
Reuters Connect
R3store Studios

Restoration and Preservation Category:

Best Archive Restoration and Preservation Project or Title:
African Jim (also known as Jim Comes to Jo'burg) | R3store Studios
The First Aerial Journey Across Europe | GP Archives
The German Retreat and Battle of Arras | IWM
Riso Amaro | Cineteca di Bologna
Sterne by Konrad Wolf, 1959 | L'Immagine Ritrovata Group / DEFA Stiftung

Production Categories:

Best Use of Footage in Advertising or Branded Content:
ABinBev "Cheers to Bars" | PS260 / STALKR
Brompton 'Life Unfolded' | Mythsmyth / The Liberty Guild
Danette "Top of the Pop" | BETC / STALKR
'Starring GREAT Britain' Campaign | SMUGGLER / Hazel May ltd / Pablo London / Whitehouse Post / Framestore
Trainline "Get Your Bum On Board" | DEPT / STALKR

Best Use of Footage in an Arts & Cultural Production:
Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story | Misfits Entertainment / Wayfarer Studios / Mediawan Rights / Entourage Media / Shanakee Archive Agency
Do You Love Me | Films de Force Majeure / My Little Films / Wood Water Films
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay | Mighty Entertainment
Quand tu écouteras cette chanson (When You Listen to this Song) | Schuch Productions
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost | Apple Original Films / XTR / Pickled Entertainment / Red Hour

Best Use of Footage in a Cinematic Feature:
Sponsored by British Pathé
Apollo 1 | Stopwatch Productions / Haviland Digital / 7T1 Films
Broken English | Rustic Canyon Pictures
Do You Love Me | Films de Force Majeure / My Little Films / Wood Water Films
The Eyes of Ghana | Breakwater Studios / Higher Ground Media
Je n'avais que le néant - "Shoah" by Lanzmann (All I Had Was Nothingness) | Les Films du Poisson / Les Films Aleph / ARTE France

Best Use of Footage in a Factual or Natural World Production:
The Bibi Files | Jigsaw Productions
Breakdown: 1975 | Tremolo Productions
Craigavon, New City | Northern Ireland Screen
David Frost Vs | Sky Studios / Paradine Productions / White Horse Pictures
El negre té nom (The Black Man Has a Name) | 3Cat / Producciones del K.0

Best Use of Footage in a History Feature:
Sponsored by FOX Archives
Deaf President Now! | Apple TV / Concordia Studio
The Eyes of Ghana | Breakwater Studios / Higher Ground Media
True North | Studio 112 Inc. / Revolution Remix LLC

Best Use of Footage in a History Production:
Sponsored by Reuters Connect
7/7: The London Bombings | The Slate Works
Clock - Socialist Burgers Inc. | Deedy Group AB / SVT
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time | Lightbox / Proximity Media / National Geographic
Iron Ladies | Raidió Teilifís Éireann / ARTE
Vietnam: The Birth of a Nation | LOOKS Film & TV Produktionen GmbH / LOOKS Filmproduktionen GmbH / LOOKS Warsaw / Morgana Studio

Best Use of Footage on Innovative Platforms:
Film Atlas | International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF)
Memories and Dementia - Starting the Conversation | BBC
Memory Bank: Bradford | Yorkshire Film Archive at York St John University

Best Use of Footage in a Short Film Production:
Sponsored by Shutterstock
The Bannfoot Ferry | UTV / Northern Ireland Screen
Free As A Bird: A Song Reborn | Universal Music Group / Apple Corps Ltd / Orofena Films / Park Road Post
Ghosts | Katia Lom
Song of My City | Erddigo

Best Use of Footage in a Sports Production:
Sponsored by Getty Images
Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story | Debsdocs Productions / Dirty Robber
Diamond Diplomacy | Flying Carp Productions
Iománaíocht Hollywood (Hollywood Hurling) | Léirithe le Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín
Nothing But a Winner: The Alabama Football Story | Adelaide Pictures / BarFaye Productions / Required Reading / Source Media
Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire | ACME

Student Jury Award for Most Inspiring Use of Footage:
Sponsored by: Sky Clip Sales
Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story | Misfits Entertainment / Wayfarer Studios / Mediawan Rights / Entourage Media / Shanakee Archive Agency
Boy George & Culture Club | Fine Point Films
Diamond Diplomacy | Flying Carp Productions
Je n'avais que le néant - "Shoah" by Lanzmann (All I Had Was Nothingness) | Les Films du Poisson / Les Films Aleph / ARTE France