MIFF announces Nominees for Uncle Jack Charles Award 2025

MELBOURNE, VIC – Kearney Group and the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) are proud to announce the nominees for the 2025 Uncle Jack Charles Award, which recognises outstanding creative achievement by an Australian First Nations artist within the MIFF program.

Now in its third year, the Uncle Jack Charles Award celebrates works that exemplify the generosity, artistry and truth-telling that defined the legacy of the late Uncle Jack Charles. The recipient will receive a $20,000 cash prize and $25,000 in financial services from Kearney Group.

“Congratulations to all the extraordinary artists nominated for this year’s Uncle Jack Charles Award,” said Paul Kearney, CEO of Kearney Group.

“Your extraordinary works exemplify the spirit of Uncle Jack—generous, artful and unapologetically honest. We are deeply honoured to recognise each of you as you continue to imagine, create, and share these essential stories with the world.”

 

Nominees for the Uncle Jack Charles Award 2025.

The 2025 nominees are:

• Mark Coles Smith – Beast of War (feature film), actor
• William Jaka – Faceless (short film), director (with Fraser Pemberton)
• Jack Manning Bancroft and Tyson Yunkaporta – Imagine (feature film), directors
• Trisha Morton-Thomas – Journey Home, David Gulpilil (feature film), director (with Maggie Miles)
• Yarrenyty Arltere Artists – The Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman (short film), art direction

The recipient of the Uncle Jack Charles Award will receive a $20,000 cash prize and $25,000 in financial services from Kearney Group—resources we hope will provide some oxygen and the freedom to imagine future projects.

The winner will be selected by an esteemed jury made up of three leading talents in the Australian arts community: interdisciplinary artist Reko Rennie; acclaimed director Jub Clerc (Sweet As, MIFF 2022); and digital artist and 2024 Uncle Jack Charles Award winner, April Phillips (kajoo yannaga, MIFF 2024).

We are so proud to support this award and walk alongside MIFF and these remarkable creatives as they continue to shape culture through powerful, world-class storytelling.

The 2025 award winner will be announced on Saturday 23 August at MIFF’s Closing Night and Awards Ceremony.

MIFF 2025 runs in cinemas from 7–24 August.

 

Learn more about the Uncle Jack Charles Award 2025.

To learn more about the Uncle Jack Charles Award 2025 and past recipients, click here.