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Travel Film Scholarship 2019

Meet the winner

To everyone who applied this year, thank you for inspiring us with your stories and talent.

Travel has extraordinary power to shape our mindset and change our outlook on life. By sharing your stories of inspiring travelers around the world you’ve given their messages the ability to cross borders.

We were very impressed by the films this year and hope to see all of you continue to develop your skills as storytellers. With more applications received than ever before, trust us when we say you made it very hard for us to pick just one winner.

Please join us in congratulating our 2019 Travel Film Scholarship winner and shortlisted applicants.

In partnership with:

Røde Microphones

The winner

Congratulations to Tania Verbeeck (Australia).

Nepal celebration
Nepal

Fortunate Unfortunates - Som Tamang

Tania Verbeeck presents the story of Som Tamag, founder of the organizations Take on Nepal and Friends of Himalayan Children Foundation. Follow the journey of Som and these young women in Nepal as they pursue their goal to become trekking guides and achieve independence.

Tania’s filming style helps the viewer get a sense of place, she captures moments that add to the story. This is so valuable, I love a beautiful shot like any filmmaker, but I appreciate story even more. I was struck by two things in the film, first Tania’s ability to tackle several issues in a short format film while retaining clarity and purpose. Second how the characters on screen responded to her, she was able to earn trust from her subjects. It is so important as a filmmaker to respect your subject and their values.

As a traveler, it is our privilege to share the beauty of the world through photographs and stories, but it is our responsibility to communicate challenges – both humanitarian and conservation that face regions. I commend Tania for doing so. Tania’s film, her application as well as personal essay showed that she is dedicated to learning more about filmmaking. I look forward to mentoring her and working together.

Jenny Nichols
2019 Travel Film Scholarship Mentor

Missed out on this travel scholarship? Sign up to hear about our next one.

The shortlist

Congratulations to the following shortlisted applicants.

Please note:

The views expressed in these stories do not necessarily reflect the views of World Nomads, RØDE, or the scholarship judges. They are the opinions of the filmmakers, and we have selected them for the caliber of their films and for the instincts that we can see behind them.

Jenny's feedback

I was blown away by the quality of this year’s travel film scholarship submissions as well as the diversity of where films were filmed and where filmmakers were from. The beauty of the cinematography, the creativity in editing and finally the storytelling. I found myself wishing several films were longer just so I could stay in the worlds that the filmmakers captured. This of course made the selection of a winner a daunting task.

I’d like to acknowledge several films that really impressed me. The storytelling in Witches Will Not Catch Me by Ludovico Serra was remarkable, it was the ease with which Ludovico developed his character that most struck me. I fell into this story immediately and truly wanted to spend more time with the character. I’d also like to acknowledge Freedom Runner by Fiona Lau and the wonderful way this story unfolded.

The World Through an Unmistakable View by Montserrat Juárez was such a joyful look at a character who was making the most of his opportunities. This is a delight to watch, and I enjoyed being surprised by editing techniques.  Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the incredible cinematography of Sailor Of The Concrete Seas by Simon Arseneau-Dubé.

To all shortlisted and everyone who applied, please continue to tell your stories, the world needs more mindful storytellers. Thank you for the hard work that went into applying, it was a pleasure to get a glimpse of your work, and thank you to my fellow judges.

I had the most incredible mentor when I was starting out, conservation photographer, writer, activist and force of nature, Cristina Mittermeier.  She is the reason I was able to start a career in filmmaking and continues to be the person I turn to when I am in need of advice. It is my honor to be able to now be a mentor myself and I look forward to working both with World Nomads as well as our partners on production, The Reef-World Foundation, to tell a powerful story. 

Jenny's Avatar
Jenny Nichols
World Nomads Travel Film Scholarship Mentor

Due to the sheer amount of applications we receive for our scholarships, we do not provide individual feedback. If you would like to improve your filmmaking in time for your next trip, please make sure to sign up for the Travel Documentary Filmmaking Guide.


Listen to Phil and Kim from the World Nomads Podcast tell Tania she's won the scholarship below.

(Please note: there's no limit to how many individual scholarships you can apply for)