The RIFA awards recognise the best short films, of up to 30 minutes in length, which will be judged by a panel of experts from academia and the film industry. The the winners will receive a trophy and £2,000 in prize money for future filmmaking projects.  

This year's panel includes Richard Davidson-Houston, Head of All 4, Channel 4 Television and Matthew Reisz from Times Higher Education.

There are five categories at this year’s awards, with the Inspiration Award being open to both professional and non-professional UK-based filmmakers, who have been inspired by the Arts and Humanities. Other categories include Best Research Film of the Year, Doctoral Award or Early Career Film, People on the Move Award: Stories of New Beginnings, and the Social Media Short Award.

The films can take multiple forms including drama, documentary and animation and can be produced either individually or collaboratively.

“Research needn’t be formal or academic: any good documentary is based on finding out about a subject in depth and unsparingly, with an objective eye and a desire to discover the facts,” explained Jan Dalley, chair of the judging panel and Financial Times Arts Editor. She added, “That’s why our awards include the Inspiration Award, a public category that anyone can enter".

Last year’s winner, Whirlpool, was a drama about American deaf blind activist, Helen Keller, and her fight for civil rights and the team used their winnings to produce a feature-length version.

Entries must be submitted by 4pm on Thursday, 14 June. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found on the AHRC website.