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DIG AWARDS 2025 ● ENGLISH
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Section 1

MISSION AND GOALS

1.1 THE 2025 DIG AWARDS

The DIG Awards are an annual international competition that awards the best journalistic investigations and reportages in video and audio format. This is our tenth edition.

The DIG Awards are organized by DIG Documentari Inchieste Giornalismi - ETS, a non-profit association that supports investigative journalism in Italy and worldwide through funding, research, promotion and education. We’re based in Modena, Italy.

Since 2015, DIG has been a platform that connects thousands of journalists, film-makers, directors and producers. We cooperate with international consortia, foundations, media companies, school and research centers.

The 2025 DIG Awards will be assigned during the DIG Festival, a 5-days event that this year will be held in Modena (Italy) from September 24 to September 28, 2025.

Our international Jury selects the best journalistic documentaries and podcasts among hundreds of submissions, awarding brave reporters and video-makers from all over the world.

To this day, our former Jury Presidents have been Romanian investigative journalist Paul Radu, French war reporter and journalist Florence Aubenas, Danish investigative journalist Mads Brügger, Italian photoreporter Paolo Pellegrin, Romanian director Alexander Nanau, Canadian journalist and best-selling author Naomi Klein, American journalist and director Jeremy Scahill, American investigative journalist and filmmaker Gavin MacFadyen and the German undercover reporter Günter Wallraff.

The 2025 Jury Members and President will be announced at the beginning of the summer.

1.2 MISSION OF THE 2025 DIG AWARDS

The DIG Awards acknowledge excellence in journalism and encourage the work of reporters who use video and audio to investigate current social, economic, technological, environmental and political issues.

The DIG Awards are presented each year to outstanding works of international caliber, in terms of quality, angle, depth of inquiry, the use of sources and the originality of format.  The competition is open to productions by freelancers, broadcasters, media companies, independent production companies, newspapers and magazines both online and in print, radio stations, agencies, platforms, consortia, associations, and production companies.

The DIG Awards are non-monetary prizes. We ask an entry fee of €50 for each submission in all video and audio categories. Participation in the DIG Pitch category is free of charge.

The only category that offers a monetary prize is the DIG Pitch, which awards up to €15.000 in funding to a project that is currently in a pre-production or development phase. All details about the DIG Pitch are available below.

Section 2

HOW TO SUBMIT

The DIG Awards are split into categories: 5 Video Categories (open to documentaries and video productions), 1 Audio & Podcast Category (open to podcasts and audio productions) and the Pitch (open to documentary projects currently in development or production).

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Here are the deadlines for each subcategory:

Update, June 19, 2025: All the categories are now closed.

Full details for each category and rules for submission are below.

The submission takes place on Filmfreeway: click here to submit.

2.1 DOCUMENTARY & VIDEO

Documentaries and films completed or released between June 1st, 2024 and June 1st, 2025 are eligible for the video categories.

All works entered, regardless of the original production language, must be mandatorily subtitled in English.

Eligible entries may have already been published or distributed, or may be completed by still unreleased. There is no limit to the number of works that can be entered by a single person or entity.

It is not possible to re-submit works already entered to the previous years’ DIG Awards. Please read the specifications for each category carefully. Anonymous entries or entries without a valid contact person will not be accepted. The works entered in the competition must also be original and have fulfilled the requirements of copyright law.

The Video category is divided into 5 subcategories:

Investigative Long (for video investigations with a minimum duration of 40 minutes), Reportage Long (for video reportages with a minimum duration of 40 minutes), Investigative Medium (for video investigations with a duration from 15 to 40 minutes), Reportage Medium (for video reportages with a duration from 15 to 40 minutes), Short (for video investigations or reportages with a maximum duration of 15 minutes).

In detail:

Category "Investigative Long": This category is reserved to video investigations with a minimum duration of 40:00 minutes. The authors must use original sources and investigative techniques to bring out elements of novelty in relation to the subject matter.

Category "Investigative Medium": The category is reserved to video investigations between 15:00 and 39:59 minutes in length. The authors must use original sources and investigative techniques to bring out elements of novelty with respect to the subject matter.

Category "Reportage Long": This category is reserved for video reportages with a minimum duration of 40:00 minutes. The authors must examine and depict issues of social relevance using original points of view and a journalistic approach.

Category "Reportage Medium": The category is reserved for video reportages between 15:00 and 39:59 minutes in length. The authors must examine and depict issues of social relevance using original points of view and a journalistic approach.

Category "Short": The category is reserved for investigations and video reportages under 15:00 minutes in length.

It is important that the candidates choose the correct subcategory or the most suitable category for their work. After an initial evaluation of the application, the DIG Board reserves the right to change the category of entry.

The DIG Board reserves the right to exclude from the competition works that blatantly violate copyright law or that do not respect all the rules of this call for entries. In no case will the DIG Association be held responsible for any unauthorized use of protected materials.

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How to submit an entry to one of the Video categories?

The application process takes place exclusively through the FilmFreeway platform, which can be accessed through the following link or by clicking the button above. The application has an entry fee of €50,00 per submission.

To apply, you must login through a user profile on the platform; after that, you can select and proceed to submission by filling in all the required fields on the form. The process is easy and straightforward.

Only works entirely subtitled in English (even when the original audio is entirely or partially in English) will be admitted to the pre-selection phase. Works that do not meet these criteria will be automatically excluded.

All the works will be evaluated by pre-selection committees of international standing consisting of film-makers, directors, broadcasters and journalists. The committees will be in charge of selecting the finalists; the International Jury of the DIG Awards will then choose the winners. All decisions made by the pre-selection committee and the Jury are final and non-disputable.

If you’re a student or freelance journalist/video-maker applying from a low-income country or a conflict area, and need financial help to apply to this year’s festival, feel free to send us an email at info@dig-awards and we can consider issuing you a personal discount code. Decisions are taken case-by-case.

2.2 AUDIO & PODCAST

The Audio & Podcast category is reserved to journalistic products in audio format (podcasts, audio dramas, radio shows) that tackle and cover relevant international stories using an investigative angle, original reporting techniques and a distinctive approach.

Audio projects completed or released between June 1st, 2024 and June 1st 2025 are eligible for the Audio & Podcast category.

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The category is open to works, published or unpublished, intended for audio distribution on any platform and produced in the following languages: Italian, English, Spanish and French.

For French- and Spanish-language audio entries, an English-language transcript/translation of the podcast/audio work is required. Please send a .docx or .pdf file on time to info@dig-awards.org.

The selection of the finalist and winning works will be entrusted to a specific international jury composed of professionals in the audio and podcast sector.

There is no limit to the number of works that can be entered by a subject, but for each one a single online entry form must be filled out.

It is not possible to re-submit works already entered in the previous year's DIG Awards.

Anonymous entries or entries without a valid contact person will not be accepted.

The DIG Board reserves the right to exclude from the competition works that blatantly violate copyright law or that do not respect all the rules of this call for entries. In no case will the DIG Association be held responsible for any unauthorized use of protected materials.

How to submit an entry to the Audio & Podcast category?

Submissions to the Audio & Podcast category can only be made through the FilmFreeway platform. The nomination has a cost of 50€ per project.

To submit your project for the Audio & Podcast category on FilmFreeway, you must strictly follow the instructions included in our step-by-step guide.

All the works that enter the competition will be evaluated by a pre-selection committee consisting of audio producers, journalists, sound designers and members of DIG. The International Audio Jury of the 2025 DIG Awards will be in charge of choosing the finalists and the winners. All decisions made by the pre-selection committee and the Jury are final.

For French- and Spanish-language Audio & Podcast submissions, a text document containing the English-language transcript of the podcast text will need to be sent at the same time as the submission to info@dig-awards.org. In the subject line of the email, please include "Title Podcast - DIG Awards 2025 - Transcript."

GO TO THE PODCAST GUIDE

2.3 THE DIG PITCH «MATTEO SCANNI» AWARD

The DIG Pitch «Matteo Scanni» 2025 category is reserved for investigative or reportage video projects in the development or production phase, focused on issues of international relevance.

Already completed documentaries are not eligible for the DIG Pitch, even if they have not yet been distributed or published.

To submit your idea, you must use this dedicated Google Form.

The finalists will present their project in front of the DIG Festival Jury and to an audience of broadcasters, producers and commissioning editors, during a public pitching session to be held during DIG Festival 2025 in Modena.

For this reason, it is mandatory that at least one team representative of the finalist project participates in person at the live session of the DIG Pitch in Modena, at their own expense.

The Festival organization is at your disposal to solve doubts and questions and to provide advice and support for the organization of the trip. Unfortunately it is not possible to attend the pitching session remotely.

During the live session, the finalist teams - of maximum two people each - will have 5 minutes to present in English the aim of their project, and an additional 3 minutes to show a teaser video with English subtitles introducing the topic, the characters, the setting and the style of the story.

The exhibition will be followed by a Q&A session with the Jury. In addition to the quality and originality of the subject, its closeness to the greater mission of DIG, the Jury will also consider the financial viability of the project.

In order to help the finalists during the Pitch session, DIG offers to the candidates an optional free mentoring session of about 45 minutes with journalists of international experience. The mentoring session will take place on Thursday, September 25 2025, the day before the live Pitch.

Each participating team may enter a maximum of 2 projects. The jury reserves the right to decide on the eligibility of applications on a case-by-case basis.

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The funding process

The winning team of the DIG Pitch Award will receive a contribution to the development of the project up to €15,000. The terms of the contribution to the winners will be set out in a separate agreement document.

Once completed, the film will remain property of the authors, while Associazione DIG reserves the right to non-commercial screening use of the project or portions of it.

The finished film must clearly mention DIG and the DIG Awards at the beginning and at the end of the film, once completed (a DIG Pitch logo will be provided, while a sentence should mention the funding received by our Association).

In addition to declaring the winning project, the Jury may recommend other works deemed worthy of mention, providing specific reasons.

How to submit a project to the DIG Pitch category?

Application to DIG Pitch can only be made through the dedicated Google Form. The application is free of charge.

Applicants are asked to send a teaser or an excerpt of the project in high resolution, free of logos and watermarks and with English subtitles.

The teams whose projects make it past the pre-selection phase will be invited to the Pitching Session during DIG Festival, where they will be able to present their project idea to the International Jury of the DIG Awards, which will be in charge of choosing the winner. All decisions made by the pre-selection committee and the Jury are final.

Section 3

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? SELECTION AND AWARDS


When will I know if my submission is selected for DIG Awards 2025?

Authors of finalist projects will be notified by July 31, 2025  through the FilmFreeway platform (for Video and Audio & Podcast categories). All those selected must confirm their participation in the festival by August 10 2025, or they will be disqualified.

The finalists must be physically present in Modena from late morning on Friday, September 26, 2025, until early afternoon on Sunday, September 28, 2025.

Finalists in the DIG Pitch category will be instead contacted via email by the first week of September 2025.

The finalist works will be screened or presented during the DIG Festival 2025 in Modena, Italy. The authors of the selected projects in the Video and Audio & Podcast categories will be invited to the DIG Festival 2025 Awards Ceremony, which will be held on the evening of September 27, 2025.

What does DIG offer to the finalists?

For each finalist project in the Video and Audio categories, DIG Festival will cover hotel/apartment accommodation for one person for two nights (Friday and Saturday) and provide two reserved seats at the awards ceremony. All other expenses, including meals and travel costs, are the responsibility of the finalists.  

If finalists wish to extend their stay in Modena beyond the two nights provided, they must arrange their own accommodation independently.  

Travel and accommodation expenses for finalist teams/authors in the DIG Pitch category are entirely the responsibility of the participants.

What materials should I send to DIG if my project is selected as a finalist, and by when?

By August 31st, 2025, finalists must have their materials submitted to the Festival secretariat as follows, under penalty of disqualification:

What technical requirements should I meet?

For the Video categories

As indicated in the previous paragraph, the authors of the projects that pass the preselection phase and will be selected for the final phase of the DIG Awards must:

  1. send to the festival staff a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) file (NTFS / Ex FAT formatting) containing the file without subtitles for screening in the cinema. Frame rate: 24 fps or 25 fps. The file should be sent via proprietary FTP; access credentials will be provided on request via email to individual finalists.

  1. name the DCP file following the instructions specified in Appendix_1, available at this link.

  1. provide subtitle files (.srt format) in English (and Italian, if available), with timecode. Please note that the timed file must respect the frame rate of the video file.

All links to the materials provided and their respective passwords must remain valid until November 1st 2025.

For the Audio & Podcast and DIG Pitch categories

Details about technical requirements for the Audio & Podcast and Pitch categories can be found inside the application forms.

Section 4

PRIVACY, TERMS AND ATTACHMENTS

RESPONSIBILITY AND PRIVACY

Each filmmaker is personally responsible for the contents of the works submitted. Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of the rules, exonerating the organization of all civil and criminal liability towards third parties.

By filling the application form, applicants declare to accept the conditions of the competition and authorise the processing of their personal data in keeping with the Privacy Code (legislative decree. No. 196/2003) and law 2016/679 (GDPR).

Contact details sent as part of the application procedure will be used exclusively for the purposes of processing the application. The Privacy Policy of the DIG Association may be consulted here: dig-awards.org/privacy-policy.

The form provides a checkbox “I want to receive the DIG newsletter” for inclusion in the DIG mailing list in accordance with the GDPR regulations. Subscribers may unsubscribe at any time.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Submitted materials will not be returned. Authors grant DIG permission to retain a copy for archival purposes, specifically for non-profit consultation, research, and study.

Film submissions constitute authorization for Associazione DIG ETS and the DIG Festival to:

RELEVANT ATTACHMENTS

Appendix_1: download here


SUPPORT AND INFORMATION

You can contact us at info@dig-awards.org or visit our website dig-awards.org.

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Associazione DIG Documentari Inchieste Giornalismi - Ets

Via Santa Chiara 14

41121 - Modena (MO)

VAT N° 03522150402

info@dig-awards.org