Personnel Entries for the 2021 FOCAL Awards opened 7th December 2020 and are free to enter
Every year we asked our valued members of FOCAL to nominate a Footage Person, Footage Company or Researcher for our personnel awards.
Please read about the individual categories below, and see the eligibility guidelines here.
Submissions and queries can be sent to awards@focalint.org – we look forward to hearing from you.
Footage Company of the Year

The recipient is a FOCAL International company member organisation, including libraries or agencies, facilities or services provider. For a submission to be shortlisted the entry has to demonstrate how and where the company has introduced a new service, initiative or innovation in the past year (2020).
Such services, initiatives and innovations may include, for example:
- New, or improved services for users;
- Sales and marketing initiatives;
- Cataloguing, preservation or digitisation projects or work that has had a positive impact on the industry
The above is not an exhaustive list and the submitter may wish to highlight other areas of excellence to the jury. Nominations can be made by anyone, including the company themselves, but in order to be eligible the company nominated must be a paid-up member of FOCAL International.
For more information please read the eligibility guidelines here.
Please send your nominations to awards@focalint.org
Footage Person of the Year

The recipient is an individual member of staff working for a library, archive or facility company, which is a member of FOCAL International, and who, over the past year, has shown outstanding skill and dedication in the service of:
- Archive preservation/restoration or;
- Cataloguing/management or;
- Provides consistently outstanding service in supplying content to users or;
- Innovation or work that has had positive contribution to company and/or industry
The above is not an exhaustive list and the submitter may wish to highlight other areas of excellence to the jury. Nominations can be made by anyone, except the person themselves, but all submissions must include authorisation from the nominee.
For more information please read the eligibility guidelines here.
Please send your nominations to awards@focalint.org
Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year Award

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
The recipient is an individual Footage Researcher (or team), who has demonstrated outstanding achievement whilst being primarily responsible for the footage research undertaken for a production(s) or project(s) premiered or released during the qualifying year (2020). Such production(s) or project(s) can include series that have been aired over many years, providing the cited episode was premiered in 2020.
The Jury will be looking for an individual or team who displayed some or all of the following qualities:
- Depth of knowledge;
- Tenacity;
- Thoroughness;
- Imagination;
- An ability to enhance and protect the integrity of the footage.
The above is not an exhaustive list and the submitter may wish to highlight other areas of exception on the part of the researcher in their application.
Anyone can nominate a Researcher for this award which is not restricted to FOCAL International members.