Categories:

Category 1 — Commercial
(€55 per entry)
This category is for commercials created for television or online platforms. Showcase your talent for storytelling and visual communication within a commercial context. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 2 — Spec commercial
(€55 per entry)
This category celebrates creative vision and originality in the realm of speculative commercials. Demonstrate your ability to concept and execute compelling commercial content, even without a client brief. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 3 — Charity film
(€25 per entry)
The Charity Film category highlights the power of film to make a positive impact. Submit work commissioned by a charity or not-for-profit organisation. Tell a compelling story that raises awareness and inspires action. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 4 — Short film
(€55 per entry)
This category celebrates the art of short-form storytelling. Submit your narrative, documentary, or experimental short films that showcase your unique voice and vision. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 5 — Music video
(€55 per entry)
This category recognises the creative synergy between music and visuals. Submit your music videos that demonstrate innovative approaches to visual storytelling and artistic expression. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 6 — Animation
(€55 per entry)
This category showcases the diverse possibilities of animation in storytelling. Submit your animated advertising content, music videos, or short films that push the boundaries of visual creativity. Eligible directors must have no more than five years of professional experience.

Category 7 — Student film
(€25 per entry)
This category provides a platform for emerging talent from film schools and universities to showcase their work and connect with industry leaders. Submit your student films or work created by recent graduates (graduated in 2024).

Category 8 — EDA Producers Award
(€55 per entry)
This award recognises all the hard work done by emerging producers in the industry. To enter yourself or to put forward a producer who has been outstanding in their field please outline a brief summary of your/their work to date and why you/they deserve to be awarded EDA Ireland Producer of the Year.
The producer should have no more than five years professional experience. Entries can be either advertising content, music promos or short films and entrants can include a maximum of three pieces of work they would like to have considered. Please note that unfortunately the Producers Award winner will not be entered into the Young Directors Awards at Cannes as the entry criteria is different.

Category 9 - EDA Cinematographers Award
(€55 per entry)
This award is an opportunity for budding cinematographers to show the artistic achievement of their craft. Entries can be either advertising content, music promos or short films and entrants can include a maximum of three pieces of work they would like to have considered. The Cinematographer should have no more than 5 years professional experience. Please note that unfortunately the Cinematographers Award winner will not be entered into the Young Directors Awards at Cannes as there is no Cinematography category.

Category 10 - EDA Editors Award
(€55 per entry)
Work across all categories. Editors must have had no more than five years professional experience. This does not include work as Assistant Editor. Entries can be either advertising content, music promos or short films and entrants can include a maximum of three pieces of work they would like to have considered. Please note that unfortunately the award winner will not be entered into the Young Directors Awards at Cannes as there is no Editors category.

How To Enter:

Entries should be submitted via the online awards system which has officially reopened. 

The system is very straightforward and will prompt you at any given point. You will need to register your account.

Once you’ve done so, simply go to Entries > My Entries and click on ‘Start new entry’. Click the category and add the entry details and credits (Agency / Client / Product / Producer / Production Company / DOP / Art Director/ Additional Crew).

You will not need to upload any files, rather we ask that you give us a Vimeo link to a high-res file. Please remember that should your entry be successful and be shown on awards night, this is the file that will be played.

You can add as many entries as you like but a separate fee will apply for each entry. During the entry process you will be asked to confirm your eligibility for each category so please remember to review the criteria. The committee reserves the right to look further into eligibility should any questions about eligibility arise.

Once you have uploaded all of your entries, you can pay for them within the entry system. You will then receive confirmation of your entries.

Eligibility:
Entrants must be Irish nationals or be a resident of Ireland for the past three years.

To be eligible for the Emerging Directors Awards, filmmakers must have no more than 5 years of professional experience. For the purposes of eligibility, professional experience is defined as any work commissioned by a business, brand, or service, whether payment was received or not. This means that you cannot have been paid for any film industry work in a professional capacity, including personal remuneration for a funded film.

Entry Fee Waiver:
The EDAs are committed to making the programme accessible to all filmmakers, regardless of their financial circumstances. We understand that the entry fee may be a barrier for some. If you would like to apply for a fee waiver, please review our policy and contact entries@edaireland.ie

2025 Submission Deadline:
Deadline for entries is the 25th of March 2025 at midnight.

Judging:
Each category will be judged by a professional working industry panel made up of two established directors, a commercials producer and two senior advertising agency creatives.

The panel will award a winner and second place prize in each of the Director's categories. In the Producers and Cinematographers category, there will only be one winner.

Find out more and see who the 2025 judges are here.

In addition to the coveted EDA Ireland award, we are absolutely delighted to announce that the EDA Ireland winners from each of the director's categories will have automatic entry into the prestigious Young Directors Awards at Cannes.

The YDA at Cannes was established over 20 years ago and pioneered the awards platform recognising and showcasing emerging directors. We are very excited to put our directors on their international stage as well as at home.

Read more about the Young Directors Awards and their fantastic event here.

Jointly run by ICAD & CPI

Sponsored by Screen Ireland