Company of the Year

Entry Form: Submit your entry here
Submission Deadline 20 March 2025

The recipient is a FOCAL International company member, including footage libraries or agencies, postproduction facilities, or service providers. To be eligible, the company nominated must be a paid-up member of FOCAL International.

Criteria:

Please note that the company will need to have been a member of FOCAL for at least two years.

The company should outline how and where it has introduced a new service, initiative, or improvement in the past year since January 2024 to benefit its business and clients and the work undertaken during this time.

For example, the company could have introduced one or more of the following:

• New or improved services for users;
• Sales and marketing initiatives;
  
• Cataloguing, preservation or digitisation projects or work that has had a positive impact on the industry

For example, the company could have introduced one or more of the following:

• New, or improved services for users;
• Sales and marketing initiatives;
• Cataloguing, preservation or digitisation projects or work that has had a positive impact on the industry

The above is not an exhaustive list, and the submitter may wish to highlight other areas of excellence for the jury.

Anyone, including the company itself, can make nominations. All submissions must include approval from the company to ensure they are aware and agree to be considered.

The jury will seek evidence demonstrating how and where the company meets the above criteria. This can also include testimonies or letters of support from the broader industry regarding the positive impact the company has made.

Documents Required for Entry:

A statement (minimum 150 words – maximum 750 words) to detail how the nominated company has met one or more of the suggestions on the criteria listed above.

At least one testimonial/letter of support is needed. Please ensure contact details for each industry statement are included.

The FOCAL office will review submissions to ensure they meet the criteria. Once announced, the shortlisted nominees will be voted on by a special Jury composed of members from the library, facilities, and individual membership base.

There is NO submission fee for this category.

Footage Person of the Year

Entry Form: Submit your entry here
Submission Deadline 20 March 2025

The recipient is an individual member of staff working for a library, archive, or facility company, which is a member of FOCAL International, whether client-facing or internal support and who, over the past year since January 2024, has shown outstanding achievement skills and/or dedication to their role by:

• Providing consistently exceptional service in supplying content to users or,
• Innovation or work that had a positive contribution to the company and/or industry or,
• Archive preservation/restoration or,
• Cataloguing/management.

The submitter may wish to highlight other areas of excellence to the jury.

Anyone can make nominations except the person themselves, but all submissions must include approval from the nominee to ensure they are aware and agree to be considered.

A statement (minimum 150 – maximum 500 words) is required to detail how the nominee meets the above criteria for this award.

The FOCAL office will review submissions to ensure they meet the criteria. Once announced, the shortlisted nominees will be voted on by a special Jury composed of members from the library, facilities, and individual membership base.

There is NO submission fee for this category.

Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year Award

Submissions Deadline: 28 February 2025

The recipient is an individual Footage Researcher (or team) who has demonstrated outstanding achievement whilst being primarily responsible for the footage research undertaken for a production(s) or project(s) premiered or released during the qualifying year (2024). Such production(s) or project(s) can include series that have been aired over many years, provided the cited episode was premiered in 2024.

The Jury will be looking for an individual or team who displayed some or all of the following qualities:

• Depth of knowledge;
• Tenacity;
• Thoroughness;
• Imagination;
• An ability to enhance and protect the integrity of the footage.

The above is not an exhaustive list, and the submitter may wish to highlight other areas of excellence for the jury. Nominations can be made by anyone except the person themselves, but all submissions must include authorisation from the nominee.

Anyone can nominate a Researcher for this award, which is not restricted to FOCAL International members.

For more information, please read the eligibility guidelines.

All Submission Forms and supporting visual material must be submitted to the FOCAL Awards entry platform – entry.focalintawards.org no later than 28 February 2025.