Finalists of the Ninth Edition of the Papaya Young Creators Contest Revealed14.04.2022

The finalists were chosen by an international jury composed of leading advertising, film, culture, and media industry figures. The jury selected twenty-two works in the four main categories of the Papaya Young Creators contest. The twenty-nine selectees hail from five countries: Poland, Lithuania, Great Britain, Germany, and Romania. 

This year’s installment of Papaya Young Creators, a unique competition that looks for emerging filmmaking talent, is moving toward its final stage. After long deliberations, the best submissions were selected by the jury, reinforced this year with leading figures in the marketing and film production industry, such as Magda Kramer, Senior Art Director at Saatchi&Saatchi, as well as individuals associated with the influencer marketing world, including Jan Strojny and Włodi Włodarczyk, the creators of Life on Wheelz. 

Have any particular trends made an appearance among this year’s submissions? British director, Papaya Films-represented filmmaker, and PYC jury member Dan French pointed out the visual aspect. – Interesting aesthetics that draw on references from the early 2000s and late 90s but give them a bit of a twist. Narratives that feature more progressive characters and topics – said Dan.

Jury members selected the best submissions in four categories. These category roster includes Branded Stories and Music Stories, in which finalists will have the opportunity to film a music video or produce commercials for brands such as Porsche, Żabka, and MODIVO, as well as this year’s new additions: the Audio Stories by Audioteka x Papaya.Rocks and Creative Playground by TikTok categories. The latter features two subcategories: TikTok Branded Stories and TikTok Unique Stories. 

Please note, that entries for the Unique Stories subcategory – completed movies rather than just explications or ideas – can be submitted through May 11. The submitted productions ought to make use of TikTok’s particular tropes and storytelling style. The entries will be assessed by a jury composed of marketing specialists, journalists and reports, as well as representatives of the creative industries. 

The grand finale of the competition is slated to take place in late June 2022. Find the full list of selected finalists below: 

Betina Bożek

Anna Drozdek

Adrian Dulnik

Hanna Dziubińska-Kopka

Marta Iwaszkiewicz

Bartłomiej Jakubiak

Kaya Kogut

Bartosz Kozera

Nina Król & Tomasz Grabowski

Kamil Kwieciński

Vykintas Labanauskas & Dominyka Adomaityte

Alexandros Liossatos & Lisa Merkert

Mateusz Macheta

Rosie May Bird Smith

Stefan Neaga

Hubert Patynowski

Urszula Pietraszek & Michał Korejba

Hanna Pikulska & Ben Holt

Joanna Różniak

Anna Ryń & Monika Dróżdż

Agnieszka Stachura

Carys Thomas & Thorbjørn Liljegren