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NewFilmmakers Los Angeles has released the nominees and jury for its 14th annual awards that recognize the top rising talent in independent film globally.

The awards will recognize 130 nominees spanning 16 award categories, encompassing directors, writers, producers, performers, cinematographers, editors, sound designers, and composers. These outstanding nominees were chosen from Nfmla’s most recent programming year, which took place in 2024 and reflect some of the most promising emerging independent filmmakers globally. The selection includes projects from Nfmla’s InFocus initiative, which highlights stories and filmmakers who are often not adequately represented in mainstream media.

“We are proud to support and uplift the work of such a talented cohort of filmmakers whose work deserves to be widely seen and acknowledged and to be part of their journey,” says Nfmla p programming director Bojana Sandic.

The jury for the 2025 Best of Nfmla Awards is composed of industry professionals, including Alvie Hurtado at Will Packer Productions,...

Searching for a list of the best up and coming screenwriters? Coverfly has curated a list of lists that brings together a raft of rising writers.

The company, which is a platform of unproduced IP and writing programs, has put together the Best Unrepped Writers, Best Unproduced Projects and The Next List as well as aggregating writing network fellowships such as NBC Launch + Sony Diverse Writers Program, writing competitions like The Academy Nicholl Fellowship and Final Draft’s Big Break, and other annual lists such as Village Roadshow’s Blood List.

Previous iterations of these lists have featured writers that have gone on to write for series such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and Beef.

The Next List is compiled by nominations from the thousands of managers, agents, and executives on The Coverfly and Tracking Board platforms. It features 35 selections including 31 individuals and four writing teams from film, television, and playwriting backgrounds.

Let’s be honest, for the most part, unless the film stars Kevin Hart or deals with slavery, the mainstream media, and in particular television, doesn’t focus much on black films, except for those predictable "The Year of Black Cinema" type articles which appear every few years or so. And it’s even rarer for short black films. Which is why it was unusual and refreshing to see that MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid, on her network program, "The Reid Report," actually took the time out to profile "Muted" with the filmmakers - director Rachel Goldberg, producer Tara Tomicevic and writer/actress Brandi Ford. The powerful film, which was fully funded through a very ...