Son of A Pitch Award

Son of a Pitch® Award

An international film award dedicated to emerging filmmakers and short films. After the success of its first edition in 2021 during the Venice International Film Festival, the Son of a Pitch® Award has become a recurring highlight of this prestigious festival. Established by Save The Cut through the Son of a Pitch® project, this award puts short films from around the world at the centre of attention and celebrates a “young” vision of audiovisual storytelling by emerging talent.

What’s New

In 2025, winners across all award categories were announced during the Venice Film Festival alongside Pif, Artistic Jury President since the first edition, at the Italian Pavilion in the prestigious Hotel Excelsior. This year also introduced a new category: Son of a Pitch® Network, open to short films of all genres — especially comedies — produced from 2015 onwards. Son of a Pitch® Network aims to connect selected films and filmmakers with industry professionals (producers, distributors, film commissions) and public and private organisations, fostering real professional opportunities for emerging talent. Many of the short films selected for the Son of a Pitch® Award are made outside traditional distribution circuits and remain unseen by broader audiences despite their artistic and social merit. The fifth edition of the Award transformed this invisibility into concrete visibility: finalists and winners toured the Lazio region, engaging with diverse communities, schools, independent cinemas and social contexts, making international short cinema a shared experience accessible beyond the festival sphere.

Highlights 2024

In five editions, more than 7000 short films from over 100 countries have participated in the Son of a Pitch® Award.
The Award ceremony takes place at the Hotel Excelsior during the Venice International Film Festival and sits at the heart of networking opportunities.
The Award’s international promotion has reached over 30 million social media accounts worldwide.

About

Son of a Pitch® Award is an international film competition that invites young filmmakers from around the world to explore and express ideas about sustainable development — across themes such as humanity, work, technology and the environment.

The Award is presented during the Venice International Film Festival and is judged by a professional artistic jury, led by Pif, a prominent figure in cinema and television.

The Package

by Yosman Serrano Lindarte

Best Short Film

Onward

by Sun Yuchen

Best Director

Corrispondenze

by Laura Mocerino

Special Mention

Travelous

by Samira Hoseini

Intercultural Award

Travelous

by Samira Hoseini

Future Award

The Package

by Yosman Serrano Lindarte

Sustainability Award

Behind

by Hamide Enise Aytekin

Invisible Territories Award

Here

by Dorota Bator

Son of a Pitch® Network Award – Best Short Film

Prizes

2024 Edition

What’s New in 2024

For the 2024 edition, the Son of a Pitch® Award shortlist screenings once again took place at Sala Laguna, at the Venice Lido, in collaboration with Isola di Edipo.

The partnership with the Italian Pavilion at the prestigious Hotel Excelsior also continued: the winners were announced during the Venice International Film Festival together with Pif, President of the Artistic Jury since the very first edition.

Son of a Pitch It! marked one of the key new additions of the 2024 edition.

It is the only award in Italy dedicated to screenwriters where pitches are evaluated by business managers ready to support the development of young talents’ ideas.

Out of 50 participants, 10 finalists were selected.
Vivere per lavorare per vivere by Gemma Pistis won Best Pitch and received a €1,000 commission from Save The Cut for the development of the screenplay.