top of page
Search

Report: Global Production Awards at the Cannes Film Festival 2025

  • Dirk Vandereyken
  • Jun 1, 2025
  • 6 min read

It is true: our magazine has a love affair with the Global Production Awards. As journalists who have been present from the very beginning, we have seen the award ceremony be cemented as one of the most fun of its ilk – a fairly brief, well-organized day hosted by Screen International in partnership with Olsberg SPI, sprinkled with a lot of moments of levity.




Still, no ceremony should overshadow the actual purpose of the awards themselves: to recognize the best, most innovative, and sustainable film and television production locations, commissions, and initiatives around the globe. Set against the backdrop of the bustling Cannes Film Festival, the third edition of the Global Production Awards once again shifted the attention from the red carpet to the apparatus that drives the industry and the studios where TV and movie magic gets made – successfully, and poignantly. As always, LifeBytes Magazine was present again.


True: the Global Production Awards may have seen better weather in Cannes, but even the incoming rain that – after the first cocktails get drunk and a variety of different bites get eaten – has the audacity to disturb the proceedings doesn’t seem to change the uplifting mood and atmosphere in the large tent erected on the posh beach location where the ceremony takes place – thanks mainly to the amazing hosts, enthusiastic nominee entourages, funny moments on stage, and tongue-in-cheek remarks.


Throughout the evening, the gala can count on its already-trademark boisterous winners and graceful losers, and many of the thoughtful categories feature some truly groundbreaking, original, and revolutionary award candidates. In the end, though, each of those categories can only have one winner, and here’s the full list:

 

The Winners


City of Film: Belfast, Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Screen)

We remember a time when Belfast was mostly defined by political conflict and industrial shipyards. However, thanks to the funding incentives presided over by Northern Ireland Screen as well as better crew development and smart infrastructure investment, the city has been attracting a plethora of international productions since the early 2000s. The success of Belfast-shot Game of Thrones didn’t go unnoticed either, and the series managed to highlight what Belfast is capable of so well that Belfast’s Titanic Studios and other production facilities have become partners of choice not just on a national, but also on an international level.


A Quiet Love
A Quiet Love

 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

A Quiet Love – Curious North Productions (Ireland)

Far from being gratuitous, Irish feature film A Quiet Love celebrates inclusivity and diversity not through ad-hoc casting additions or tacked-on character arcs, but rather through a raw, uncompromising take on its subject matter: the lives of three deaf couples that communicate exclusively through Irish Sign Language (ISL). Further accentuating the recent industry push toward authentic, equitable narratives, no less than 28 crew members also belonged to the deaf community – a laudable effort that is sure to serve as a diversity blueprint for years to come.

 

Economic & Social Impact Award

Māoriland Productions & Film Festival (New Zealand)

Although upcoming horror film Mārama heavily centers on Māori culture, it was shot in the UK. The Māoriland Productions award win showcases that things don’t have to be this way, though, as it is a celebration of community-building and a great demonstration of how film initiatives are capable of blending the typical cinematic ambitions of the film industry with respect – and maybe even celebration – of indigenous culture.

 

Emerging Location

Frøya, Norway (Midgard Film Commission)

In decades past, film and TV productions mostly tended to focus on a handful of large hubs, such as Los Angeles, London, and Vancouver. The win for Frøya – an island located in the northern Trøndelag region of Norway – isn’t just a reminder of the industry’s thirst for fresh, unique cinematic landscapes, but also for decentralised production locations that offer more logistical advantages and flexibility while also being able to count on less congestion and easier permitting.

 

Film Commission of the Year – City/Region

BC Film Commission at Creative BC (Canada)

We vividly remember a Cannes party hosted by an island owner who promised a 65% cash rebate. The offer, of course, turned out to be too good to be true, as his incentive missed the point due to a lack of available crew, equipment, and production facilities – three pillars British Columbia excels at, making it one of the world’s most reliable production centres.

 

Film Commission of the Year – Country

Spain Film Commission (Spain)

Another unsurprising win was the one for Film Commission of the Year, which was raked in by Spain Film Commission, possibly because of its successful push to a nationwide strategy that embraces regional cultural as well as geographic diversity, encompassing an astonishing variety of landscapes and architecture. Its ability to coordinate so many regional film offices and scalable production options has put the Spanish Film Commission on the radar of a great many international series and films as well – all resulting in a well-earned award.

 

Impact Leadership Award

Craig Gainsborough (Greenlit, New Zealand)

It is no accident that the Impact Leadership Award goes to Craig Gainsborough, as he heads Greenlit, a company that, instead of treating ecological filmmaking as an optional add-on, incorporates it in every step of the production process. In an industry that has historically had a significant part in polluting our environment, being able to make sustainable decisions early in the workflow, integrate carbon tracking, and count on green resource management has become a much-needed logistical and cultural shift, and only a few companies other than Greenlit seem to be as acutely aware of this fact.


Awesome Animals And Mini Me
Awesome Animals And Mini Me

 

Sustainable Production Award – TV

Awesome Animals And Mini Me – Three Arrows Media, Final Pixel & Sky Kids (UK)

The aptly named Awesome Animals And Mini Me has its presenters and child participants shrink until they are able to ‘step into’ the world of whatever animal they will be observing in this factual-entertainment series. Interestingly, the series’ reliance on on-site filming, LED volume stages, and real-time digital environments also served as a creative catalyst, while cutting down on extensive travel and other practices that would otherwise have added to its ecological footprint quite significantly.

More info: www.skykids.com

 

Sustainability Initiative Award

Re-Set Programme – Garden Studios (UK)

All too often, making sure a production is sustainable often falls to the companies actually shooting the film or series. Thankfully, however, studios are starting to emerge that already offer a more ecological workflow – such as 2025’s Sustainability Initiative Award winner. UK’s Garden Studios offers a full circular production model that takes into account how materials (such as props, construction resources, and sometimes entire sets) are sourced, used, and reused – even across otherwise unrelated productions.

 

Virtual Production Innovation

Virtual Audiovisual Production White Paper & El Escorial Digital Assets (Spain Film Commission)

Spain is rapidly becoming a country that demonstrates how initiatives often scoffed at by climate deniers and right-wing politicians turn out not just to have value, but sit at the origin of a very welcome industry shift.


With the Virtual Audiovisual Production White Paper being just as much a research document as a roadmap that outlines best practices, technological standards, and policy recommendations for integrating virtual production into mainstream workflows, the commission clearly is intent on being a thought leader prepared for what the future will bring.


Complementing the white paper is the digitization of culturally and/or architecturally relevant sites through the El Escorial Digital Assets project, which allows logistical and environmental costs such as travel and strain on heritage sites to drop significantly while still offering the same visually rich and culturally significant storytelling to the audience.

 

Studio of the Year

Cinespace Studios (Canada)

Cinespace Studios can count on multiple locations in different cities, each high-end facility allowing for scalable productions. Its recent investments in modernisation, sustainability initiatives, and virtual production capabilities further demonstrate its willingness to remain one of the globe’s most important production ecosystems.

 

Special Recognition Award

Northern Ireland Screen

Finally, the sustained, two-decade-spanning efforts in reshaping its entire regional industry earned Northern Ireland Screen a rare Special Recognition Award, demonstrating that its dedication to building a resilient ecological ecosystem did not go unnoticed by the Global Production Awards jury.


 On to 2026!


As the Global Production Awards eye 2026, we can already be sure that its appreciation of decentralised productions, sustainability as a baseline, and technological innovation will expand into the next year and beyond. We will be present, and we hope that you will not just be following the news, but take a cue from these truly innovative initiatives that, in a sense, could be seen as a blueprint to pave the way for ecological industries beyond TV and movie making.


Text: Dirk Vandereyken

Pictures: Paula van Unen, Global Production Awards


 

Comments

bottom of page