Mobile Journalism Awards

The Mobile Journalism Awards is an annual film competition produced by the Visual Editors Non-Profit to identify, advance, and celebrate the best mobile journalism reporting each year.

In an era where smartphones have revolutionized storytelling, the Mojo Awards celebrate excellence in mobile journalism, which empowers more journalists to narrate stories from more corners of the globe.

MOBILE JOURNALISM AWARDS – SEASON SIX

The #MojoAwards recognizes outstanding films across four categories:

Mobile journalism
Crisis reporting
Documentary
Rural voices

The top films from this year’s competition will be screened in April at the NABshow in Las Vegas and the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy.

Winners will be announced, followed by a judges’ panel discussion.

The April screenings events are organized with the Broadcast Education Association and the International Journalism Festival.

Prize sponsors include BlackMagic Design, IFAD (United Nations), and the Smart Film School.

The winner of the Rural Voices category wins $1,00 cash and travel to Perugia to accept the prize.

The annual competition attracts film story entries from mobile journalists reporting in more than 40 countries.

SEASON SIX JUDGES Johanna Rüdiger Aphrodite Salas and Rob Layton will announce the winners and present their films on the big screen at Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia.

Additional screenings are also made by invitation at global journalism conferences and other events organized by U.S. Speaker Program.

Request information about hosting a screening event.

PRIZES

Blackmagic Design is donating four DaVinci Resolve Speed Editors (which includes the DaVinci Resolve Studio) to the prize pool that will be awarded to the winners of the next #MojoAwards competition.

Each journalist who has a story selected as a finalist will also be awarded a $500 gift certificate from the Smart Film School.

Winning films will receive prizes donated by The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Smart Film School.

CALL FOR ENTRIES – OPENS SEPTEMBER 14, 2025

https://filmfreeway.com/MobileJournalismAwards

#MojoAwards categories:

Mobile Journalism
Crisis Reporting
Documentary
Rural Voices

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 14, 2026

Call for entries — CALL FOR ENTRIES
https://filmfreeway.com/MobileJournalismAwards

SMALL CAMERAS, GLOBAL IMPACT

In addition, the best films from all seasons of the Mobile Journalism Awards are curated in a permanent collection at the Smart Film School.

This allows scholars from all walks of life to review the collective body of documentary film work and new entries from each year’s competition results.

MADE FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND PROFESSIONALS

Students need not be intimidated to submit their work.
In fact, a female student from Mexico was awarded Best Documentary honors in season two.

CATEGORIES

Mobile Journalism
• An open call for feature stories, news reports, travel stories, and human-interest features that have been shot primarily with smartphones.

NOTE: Judges can make several awards from work entered into this category. It all depends upon the variety, originality and quality of the work sent in.

• Assets from other small mobile gear like portable mics, GoPros, Drones, 360° and Action Cams is allowed.
• English Subtitles (burned in) are mandatory for any non-English scenes.
• All aspect ratios are supported (Square, Horizontal, Vertical).

Documentary
• Non-fiction subject between 3 and 10 minutes in length on any topic. Must be accurately reported with integrity using journalism ethics. Creative approaches to editorial illustration and narrative exposition that push the frontier of the documentary genre forward are certainly welcome.

Crisis Reporting
Entries may consist of reports, documentaries, live shots, news packages, or human-interest features that have been shot primarily with smartphones.
• Stories can be filmed in any location (battlefield, border crossings, homes, in transit, or anywhere necessary to tell the story of the crisis).
• Assets from other small mobile gear like portable mics, GoPros, Drones, 360°, and Action Cams is allowed, but material that was clearly produced with the capabilities of larger cameras is ineligible.
• English Subtitles (burned in) are mandatory for any non-English scenes. All aspect ratios are supported (Square, Horizontal, Vertical).

Rural Voices
This award will go to the best story (shot on a mobile phone) highlighting rural issues or reporting on the challenges of daily life of people living in rural or remote areas of the world, whether focused on food security, the effects of climate change and challenges of farming, issues around connectivity, access to markets/transport etc., challenges of youth unemployment or other.

We are particularly interested in entries from people living in fragile environments and crisis areas. Entries from rural women, youth and people from indigenous communities are particularly welcome.

$1,000 Cash Prize for Rural Voices

FAD will offer a cash prize of US$ 1000.
IFAD will provide flights and accommodation (up to the value of US$3,000 for the winner to attend, take part and receive their award at a MOJO awards event at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia in April 2025. (Visa situation allowing).
If that is not feasible within the time frame, we would arrange a special event in their own country to honor them at one of IFAD’s regional offices and arrange a hybrid meeting with Italy.
IFAD will invite the winner to take part in an event/side event at the IFAD Governing Council 2026. (Either in person or virtually)

Eligibility for the Rural Voices prize

The entrant needs to be over 18 years of age (as demonstrated by a valid ID).
The film needs to be shot on a smart mobile phone by one person/crew and be between 1- 5 minutes in length.
The film can be landscape or portrait.
The film can be professionally edited (but doesn’t have to be)
The film can be in any language but needs to have English subtitles for the entry.
The film must have been shot between January 2024 and December 2024.
The film must have taken place in one of IFAD’s Member States. Details of our 178 members can be found here.
The author/director of the film must have been born or be living in one of IFAD’s Member States.

HOW TO ENTER

CALL FOR ENTRIES
https://filmfreeway.com/MobileJournalismAwards

This competition showcases the best stories and mobile storytellers each year.

Journalism is a cornerstone of free speech and a strong defender of democratic ideals.

By raising the standards for mobile journalism and hosting public screenings, journalists can show the impact of non-fiction storytelling.

The Mobile Journalism Awards recognize excellence in non-fiction storytelling by mobile reporters.

Recent winners

Finalists films from the fourth season of the #MojoAwards were showcased in special screenings in April at the NABshow and the International Journalism Festival.

A list of previous winners can be found here.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Proceeds from this event and the #MojoWorkshop support Visual Editors, NFP – A public charity that provides visual journalism educational resources.

The public can also support this project by giving to the charity.

Visual Editors is a USA registered 501(c)(3) charity founded in 2005 to support visual journalism education. Officers and staff donate their time and expertise – there is no payroll, our overhead is bare-bones.

Your contributions directly support these programs.
Donations can also be made by bank wire transfer if you prefer.

The Visual Editors, NFP treasurer can provide you with details when you are ready to give.

Congrats to all who enter!

JUDGES

Marta Machado, Thomson Reuters Foundation, London

Marcela Kunova, Journalism Co UK

Becky Beamer, Photo Journalism Professor, Oslomet University, Norway

Robert Stewart, Emeritus Director, E. W. Scripps School of Journalism

Kim Fox, Professor, The American University Cairo

Jacques Rosselin, Head of the EFJ School of New Journalism, Paris

Aphrodite Salas, Journalism Professor, Concordia University, Montreal

Naila Hamdy, Director, The American University Cairo

Michelle Porter, The International Fund for Agricultural Development , Rome

JOIN THE #MOJO CLUB FOR FREE

The #MojoAwards is also a #MojoMeetup where you can network with MOJO colleagues from around the globe in real time and share tips about the latest tools and techniques.

Join the international mojo community online (for free!) at MOST – Mobile Storytellers.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

#MojoAwards receives mobile journalism stories from reporters in United States, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Italy, France, Canada, Russian Federation, S. Korea, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Chile, Jordan, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Ireland, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, Switzerland, and Israel.

PARTNERS

USA
E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
Visual Editors non-profit
Broadcast Educators Association
National Association of Broadcasters
Society for News Design

ITALY
International Journalism Festival
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

UK
Journalism co.uk

FRANCE
EFJ School of New Journalism

EGYPT
The American University, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

ARGENTINA
Latin American Congress of Mobile Journalism

This group of forms the competition committee. The directors of journalism schools, editors-in-chief, and media development experts volunteer their expertise to the non-profit.

They also advise on categories, judging criteria, and help to coordinate additional screening events of the winning work from this competition.

The #MojoAwards are a project of Visual Editors, NFP, a Chicago-area non profit that supports visual journalism scholarship.

Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this project.

More ways to donate

Institutional donors may request a copy of the organization’s 501(c)3 ruling from the IRS and the certificate of good standing issued by the Illinois Secretary of State.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Films from the winners premieres in April each year at the NABshow in Las Vegas.

Follow this page and the #MojoAwards hashtag on Twitter for all competition announcements.

Official updates will be posted by @MobileMost and @VizEds

The best work from each awards season is also curated in this permanent collection at the Smart Film School.