THE ELISAR CABRERA DISCOVERY AWARD
Elisar at the British Independent Film Awards
The Elisar Cabrera Discovery
Award
This award highlights innovation, uniqueness of vision, and maverick filmmaking, rewarding debut feature films with a social impact made for a budget of under £500K and with no, or very limited, theatrical distribution deals in place.
The Award
In 2024, The Raindance Discovery Award was renamed “The Elisar Cabrera Discovery Award.”
The award aims to highlight a filmmaker whose work most exemplifies the spirit, the creativity, the passion, the originality and the integrity that Elisar, during his lifetime, gave to independent, low budget filmmakers and filmmaking.
We are proud to announce that the first award winner at the June 2024 ceremony was the acclaimed South Korean thriller Sleep.
Each year the award recipient receives a trophy, and a £500 award.
Sponsorship of the first Elisar Cabrera Discovery Award by The International Arcadian Chapter
The 2025 Award.
Submission details for the 2025 Elisar Cabrera Discovery award can be found here...
Elisar Cabrera, was a film producer, director, web series pioneer, video journalist, a key teacher at Raindance, and a wrestling producer. He was a pioneer of online filmmaking, founding the Raindance Web Fest, the World’s first festival for independent digital and web series, and co-founding Digital Creators UK. He will be remembered by many young filmmakers for his encouragement and advice on all aspects of film-making.
About Elisar...
Elisar was known for....
Eligibility
The filmmaker must demonstrate a passion for independent film and filmmaking and be able to showcase their ability to tell a compelling story that has social impact on a limited budget. Feature films considered for the award should be a first feature, have been made for under £500K and have no, or very limited, theatrical distribution deals in place.
The filmmaker should demonstrate an innovative approach to storytelling that sets them apart from others.
Submissions
The Award will be made at the Raindance Film Festival in 2024. Nominees will be drawn from submissions for the feature film categories of the festival. Submissions are open now with a final deadline of 5th February 2024. (Please note that this award isn't listed on the submissions page as a separate award category as the judges select nominees from general submissions)
Submissions can be made here.
Judges
The Raindance Festival jury is filled with talent representing every corner of the film industry.
Get in touch
Announcing the setting up of the award in 2023