ADCAN Awards Connect Aspiring Filmmakers and Good Causes

Squeezing into the jam-packed advertising awards ecosystem is a tough assignment but an industry collective is out to try with the launch of ADCAN, a new initiative supporting upcoming film talent through creative productions for charities and good causes.

Developed by Brydon Gerus and Dan Heighes, ADCAN was established as an awards community that connects good causes and charities with aspiring, non-represented filmmaking talent. ADCAN provides a new approach that exists above and beyond the awards themselves; it is not only a creative platform to help aspiring filmmakers get exposure within the industry, it is also a means for films to be made that will do some good and connect filmmakers with charities/causes and production companies looking for the next top talent.

For the competition – which is free to enter – filmmakers are challenged to create a 30 second advert from one of three exciting online briefs from AdCan’s chosen charities/causes: Open Cinema, Engineers Without Borders UK and Learning Through Landscapes. The entries will be judged by industry-leading production companies Rattling Stick, Partizan and Nexus who will award one winner and three shortlisted films for each charity brief. Additionally there will be an overall winner from the final 12 selected films.

Winners and shortlisted filmmakers will not only be linked with good causes and charities, but will also that need content and put them in front of an impressive array of partners and sponsors: Vimeo will feature and promote the adverts, and there will be creative workshops for the winners with The Mill (post), Wave (sound), Work (editing), Arri Media (camera work) and creatives Dave Trott, Mark Denton and Ben Kay.

The competition launches on Monday 10 March 2014 with entries required for submission by Monday 30 June 2014. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony held at a central London location in July, which will be attended by a host of leading industry figures and companies.

Brydon Gerus said: “Symbiotic relationships occur naturally in nature and to great benefit. The idea of ADCAN came when I inquired into designing a community that would work upon similar principles and as a result produce a positive difference both in our industry and the world.”

Dan Heighes added: “With award shows being such a big business and costing so much to enter, there’s very little opportunity for emerging talent to get the exposure they need. ADCAN is free to enter and creates a platform that focuses talent and exposes them whilst creating a genuinely valued byproduct. It’s a hugely exciting opportunity for all involved.”

The ADCAN programme is a creative platform for good, leveraging individual needs for a greater cause, and everyone involved in ADCAN is contributing their time and expertise for free.

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