2025 Young Filmmakers Contest Winners
In celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in 2025, we invited participants to create short films that honor Austen’s genius and enduring influence. Entries could also explore Jane Austen and her world—her novels, letters, characters, themes, or adaptations of her work.
Our 2025 Panel of Judges
The first-, second-, and third-place winners were selected by our stellar panel of judges.
Pictured from left to right:
- Andrew Davies—Screenwriter: Pride and Prejudice, Sanditon, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Bleak House, House of Cards (ITV), Mr. Selfridge, Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
- Lindsay Doran—Producer: Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee, Dead Again, Leaving Normal, Stranger Than Fiction.
- Susannah Harker—Actor: Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards, The Glass Menagerie, Abigail’s Party, A Caribbean Dream.
- Vanessa Riley—Author: Island Queen, Queen of Exiles, Year for Sister Mother Warrior, Murder in Drury Lane; Consultant: Hallmark's Sense and Sensibility.
- Robert Rodi—Author: Bitch In A Bonnet: Reclaiming Jane Austen From the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps; Edgar & Emma; Amelia Webster.
- Rebecca Romney—Author: Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend; Rare book dealer; Rare book specialist on the History Channel's Pawn Stars.
Fashion Sense (and Sensibility)
By Rowan Killina
First Place
Step into the world—and skirts—of Jane Austen's literary experience through a half-documentary, half-animated short exhibiting a fashion-design take on reading Austen's works.
Mrs. Harris Bigg-Wither
By Tia Marinakas
Second Place
In her final hours, Jane Austen reflects on the proposal that forced her to choose between security and her own happiness.
Regency Girls
By Ashley Lauren Jones
Third Place & People's Choice
Unable to talk to Martha's crush without a chaperone, Regency girls Martha and Susan must scheme a way to communicate with him.
