FilmLight Colour Awards 2026 Opens Entries

The FilmLight Colour Awards 2026 has opened for entries, with this year's competition introducing an expanded category structure designed to further recognise the creative contribution of colourists across film, television and commercial projects.

Organised by FilmLight in partnership with ToruńCAMERIMAGE, the sixth edition of the awards is now accepting submissions from colourists working on any grading platform. Entries close on 31 July 2026.
A key change for the 2026 awards is the expansion and renaming of the Spotlight category to Spotlight & Documentary. The updated category aims to highlight the work of colourists contributing to independent cinema and non-fiction productions, recognising the role colour grading plays in shaping the visual identity of lower-budget narratives and real-world storytelling.

To qualify for the Spotlight & Documentary category, feature films must have a total production budget of less than $3 million USD and a minimum duration of 70 minutes. Documentaries must have a minimum duration of 50 minutes.

The 2026 FilmLight Colour Awards will recognise 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 five years of professional experience

The awards will be judged by an international panel of cinematographers, colourists and industry experts, with winners to be announced during a dedicated ceremony at the ToruńCAMERIMAGE festival in November.

Acclaimed director and 2025 Jury Guest of Honour, Park Chan-wook, highlighted the increasing recognition of the colourist’s role within the filmmaking process, said: "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."

With the submission deadline of 31 July 2026 approaching, colourists and production facilities are being encouraged to enter their work ahead of the closing date.

The FilmLight Colour Awards are supported by a range of industry organisations, including 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) and ShotDeck.

www.flccawards.org