The FilmLight Colour Awards, in co-operation with ToruńCAMERIMAGE, has officially opened its sixth edition, calling for entries to celebrate the craft of colour grading.
Entries are open to colourists working on any grading platform, with a final submission deadline of 31 July 2026.
The Spotlight category has been renamed and expanded to Spotlight & Documentary to encourage non-fiction submissions. Key criteria for this category include a total production budget of less than $3 million USD and a minimum duration of 70 minutes for feature films and 50 minutes for documentaries.
In total, the 2026 awards will honour outstanding 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 5 years of professional experience.
Director and 2025 Jury Guest of Honour Park Chan-wook, noted: “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.”
All submissions will be independently evaluated by an esteemed global jury of celebrated cinematographers, colourists, and industry experts. The 2026 winners will be unveiled and showcased this November at a ceremony during the ToruńCAMERIMAGE festival.
Entries close on 31 July 2026, colourists and production facilities are encouraged to submit their work soon.
The awards are led and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with ToruńCAMERIMAGE. It’s also supported by 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), ShotDeck (fully-searchable cinematic image library), and more.
For full eligibility rules, category guidelines, or to submit a project, see the official awards platform: www.flccawards.org
Picture shows The Brutalist, graded by colourist Máté Ternyik, which won the 2025 edition Theatrical Feature category.
Pippa Considine
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