Ember Awards Entry Guidance

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The Ember Awards are presented by Screen Craft Guild Cymru, the trading name of SCREEN CRAFT GUILD Cyf.

 

Introduction

 

The Ember Awards celebrate excellence in production design, costume design, and hair and make-up across film and television in Wales.

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The awards are designed to recognise the creative judgement, authorship, skill and craft of practitioners whose work shapes what we see on screen.

 

Entry Routes

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Ember Awards entries may be submitted through the public entry form by named creatives, production companies, producers, broadcasters, creative department team members, or authorised representatives connected with the production.

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Where an entry is submitted by someone other than the named creative / HOD, the submitter must confirm that the named creative is aware of and consents to the entry being made.

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Guild membership is encouraged, but is not required for submission to the 2026 Ember Awards.

All entries remain subject to the eligibility criteria, submission requirements, payment requirements, permissions and declarations set out in the Ember Awards Terms and Conditions.

 

Main Craft Award Disciplines

 

Entries may be submitted in the following three craft disciplines:

• Production Design

• Costume Design

• Hair & Make-up Design

 

Entrants submit by discipline only. Entrants do not choose the final award category at the point of submission.

 

Award Structure

The Ember Awards include nine main craft awards.

 

Adaptive Craft Categories — 6 Awards

• Production Design × 2

• Costume Design × 2

• Hair & Make-up × 2

 

Short Form Categories — 3 Awards

• Production Design × 1

• Costume Design × 1

• Hair & Make-up × 1

 

Short Form is defined as work with a total running time of up to 40 minutes, including credits.

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Adaptive Award Categories

The Ember Awards use an adaptive category model to reflect the range, scale and nature of work being produced within the Welsh screen industry.

 

Rather than applying fixed categories before entries are received, the Guild Committee will review all eligible entries after submissions close and define the final award categories based on the balance and characteristics of the work submitted.

 

This approach is intended to ensure that work is judged fairly and in context, recognising the diversity of creative approaches across production design, costume design, and hair and make-up.

 

Categories may include distinctions such as:

• Film and Television

• Contemporary and Period / Heightened design

• Other appropriate groupings that support fair and meaningful comparison

 

Final award categories will be communicated to voting members before the first voting round.

 

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How to Enter the Craft Awards

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Each craft entry must include:

• clear identity of the credited entrant / nominee

• written entrant statement, maximum 2400 characters

• up to 10 supporting images of the submitted work

• one hero image in 4:5 portrait format

• image credits, where required

• viewing link to the submitted work

• viewing password or access information, where required

• AI use declaration

• rights and permissions declarations

• entry payment

 

For television series, only one episode per series may be submitted.

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Entries may be submitted through the public Ember Awards entry form.

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Entries may be completed by the named creative / HOD, or by a production company, producer, broadcaster, creative department team member, or authorised representative connected with the production.

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Where an entry is submitted by someone other than the named creative / HOD, the submitter must confirm that the named creative has consented to the submission and that all declarations and entry information have been completed accurately.

 

Before You Begin

Please read this guidance and the full Terms and Conditions, and Awards FAQ before completing your entry.

We recommend reading through the full form before you begin, as incomplete draft entries cannot be saved. 

 

Please make sure you have all required information and materials ready before starting, including:

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• submitter details

• lead creative / entrant details

• co-creative details, where applicable

• confirmation that the named creative / HOD is aware of and consents to the entry, where applicable

• Membership status of the named lead creative

• production details

• confirmation that the named creative / HOD is aware of and consents to the entry, where applicable

• budget or scale information, where relevant (not mandatory)

• written entrant statement

• up to 10 images of the submitted work

• hero image in 4:5 portrait format

• image credits

• viewing link and password / access details

• any relevant AI use information

• payment method​

 

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) must be completed. Other fields are optional, but please provide any information that applies to your entry.

 

Your entry will only be valid once both the completed form and entry payment have been received. Incomplete entries, or entries without confirmed payment by the closing deadline, may not be accepted.

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Lead Creative and Co-Creatives

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Each award entry must name one lead creative / entrant.

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Where appropriate, the entry may also name up to two additional co-creatives whose contribution should be recognised as part of the same award entry.

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Naming co-creatives is optional. Co-creatives should only be included where they have made a significant creative contribution to the submitted work and where their inclusion is appropriate to the credited design authorship of the entry.

One trophy will be presented for each award category.

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If an entry wins, the trophy will be presented to the lead creative / entrant named on the award entry. Where up to two co-creatives have also been named on the entry, the winning recipient may apply for up to two additional trophies for that award category. Additional trophies are subject to availability and will be supplied at cost to the award recipient or recipients.

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All award nominees will receive a nomination certificate.

Up to three nomination certificates are available per nominated award entry: one for the lead creative / entrant and up to two additional co-creatives named on the entry. Nomination certificates will be presented to award nominees on the night of the Awards ceremony where possible.

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Additional or further nomination certificates beyond the maximum of three per nominated award entry are not available.

 

Optional Budget and Scale Information

Entrants may provide contextual information to help the Awards Committee understand the scale and resources available to the department.

This may include:

• production budget band, where known

• department budget

• schedule limitations

• scale or complexity of the work

• team size, where relevant

• production constraints

• any mismatch between the overall production scale and the department resources available

 

This information is not mandatory, but where provided, it will help the Committee assign entries to adaptive categories for fairer comparison.

 

Where budget information is provided, entrants are encouraged to include the total design department budget covering the full production or series.

 

This may include:

• non-contractual departmental labour, including dailies

• materials and build costs

• production-specific craft resources

 

This should exclude:

• Head of Department fees

• facilities, locations and production-wide costs, such as transport or accommodation

• VAT

 

For episodic series, entrants shoud use the total department budget for the full series, net of VAT, divided by the number of episodes. This proportional per-episode value may be used by the Committee to assist in classification.

 

This information will remain confidential and will be used solely by the Committee to support fair and appropriate category allocation.

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AI Use in Submitted Work

All craft entries must complete the AI declaration section of the entry form.

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Where an entry is submitted by someone other than the named creative / HOD, the submitter must ensure that the AI declaration has been completed accurately and, where appropriate, with the knowledge and consent of the named creative / HOD.

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Where AI tools were used in any part of the conception, design, production or post-production process, the entrant or authorised submitter must explain how AI was used and whether that use was limited, supporting, experimental, or materially influential in shaping the final creative outcome. Entrants should also declare whether AI use was their own creative decision, a department decision, or required/requested by the production company, studio, producer or another party.

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Eligibility Summary

Eligibility is primarily determined by either the Welsh status / Wales connection of the named creative, or by the production activity itself. You do not need to be Welsh by birth to be eligible. A named creative may also qualify through a significant connection to Wales, such as having lived in Wales for five or more years, having previously lived in Wales for a substantial period, or having a strong and demonstrable relationship with the Welsh screen industries through repeated work on productions made in Wales.

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Entries may be submitted by the named creative or by an authorised person connected with the production, provided the named creative is aware of and consents to the entry.

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Guild membership is encouraged, but is not required for submission to the 2026 Ember Awards.

All eligibility decisions remain subject to review by the Guild.

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Judging and Voting

 

Voting for the craft award categories is conducted by Full Voting Members of the Guild.

Voting is conducted through a secure online voting system.

 

Round One

Determines the nominees in each category.

 

Round Two

Determines the winner from the nominees.

 

Voting uses a 3–2–1 points system unless otherwise determined by the Guild for a specific category:

• 1st choice: 3 points

• 2nd choice: 2 points

• 3rd choice: 1 point

 

Voting members are expected to act with integrity, avoid conflicts of interest, and vote only where sufficiently informed.

 

Entry Fees

Short Form entries: £24 inc VAT per entry. 

Feature Film and Television Drama entries: £48 inc VAT per entry. 

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All fees are payable at the point of entry and are subject to confirmation; the only exception is where a production has prepaid the entry fee. 

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Your entry will only be valid once both the completed form and entry payment have been received. Incomplete entries, or entries without confirmed payment by the closing deadline, may not be accepted.

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2026 Awards Timeline

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Monday June 1 - Open for Entries 

Friday 17 July, 5.00pm - Entries Close

Friday 31 July - Adaptive Categories and long list announced

Saturday 1 August - Round 1 Voting Opens (open for 4 weeks)

Friday 28 August, 5.00pm - Round 1 Voting Closes 

Friday 4 September - Nomination Announcement Event

Saturday September 5 - Round 2 Voting Opens (open for 2 weeks)

Friday 18 September, 5.00pm - Round 2 Voting Closes

Sunday 27 September - The Ember Awards Ceremony

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