13 November 2025. 7-9:30pm
Canary Wharf, London
AWARDS CATEGORIES
View the categories below for the 2025 Indielab Innovation Awards:
Entry fees:
Single entry - £95 (+VAT)
Bundle of 3 entries - £85 each (+VAT)
Bundle of 6 entries - £75 each (+VAT)
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Bundle entry rates will require a discount code, please contact abigail@weareindielab.co.uk to receive this before making payment and submitting your entries.
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Entries will not be accepted without payment. Please ensure payment is made by the end of July 2025 and no refunds will be permitted.
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Please ensure you also read through the entries carefully before submission.
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Entry deadline:
1 August 2025
Click HERE to view the ENTRY GUIDELINES.
BEST DRAMA
OUTSTANDING
MULTI-SCREEN
CONTENT
OUTSTANDING
INDIE OF THE YEAR
FACTUAL
ENTERTAINMENT
This Award recognises a drama programme that has seen significant success and redefined the genre through outstanding creative work and execution. It will have originality, impact, and performances that push the boundaries of storytelling. Judging will seek success demonstrated through critical acclaim, strong viewership, or cultural impact. Whether created for traditional broadcast, streaming, or digital platforms, the drama should stand out as a benchmark of excellence, influencing the future direction of the genre.
Celebrating content that thrives across multiple platforms, including TV, podcast, social, or digital-first. This category honours work that delights audiences wherever they are. Entries should highlight creative adaptation for each screen while preserving IP and a brand voice. Judges are looking for projects that harness platform-specific strengths to amplify reach, engagement, and storytelling impact. Audience growth and experience will help define the standout multi-screen content of the year.
This Award honours an independent production company that consistently delivers exceptional content and stands out as a leading indie in the industry. It recognises creative and commercial excellence, and an impactful body of work across the year. You will be routinely at the cutting edge of content creation and inspiring audiences. Entries should highlight strengths including but not limited to, key titles, innovations in production or business models, and commitments to diversity, talent development, and storytelling integrity. Judges will assess the indie's influence, cultural impact, and ability to shape the media landscape with originality and purpose.
This Award celebrates an outstanding programme that combines factual storytelling with an engaging format. It honours content that informs and inspires while captivating audiences, whether through humour, heart, or compelling human stories. Judges will pick the winning entry that showcases originality and the ability to make topics unforgettable.
BEST
DOCUMENTARY
BREAKTHROUGH
REALITY SERIES
CREATOR OF THE
YEAR
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT
This category celebrates a documentary that brings depth, originality, and perspective to powerful real-life stories. The winning entry should demonstrate high editorial quality, creative vision, and depth. Judges will be looking for documentaries that provoke thought, drive discourse, and provide access to new or urgent narratives. Cinematic quality, story construction, and impact beyond the screen are pivotal to this Award.
This Award honours a reality series that sets a new standard, either by format innovation, cultural impact, or the reinvention of a familiar genre. Entries should demonstrate bold, creative choices and outstanding production values. Success can be demonstrated through audience engagement, originality, or the ability to connect with a new or broad demographic. The winner will be a format that helps reshape what reality TV can be.
This Award celebrates a visionary digital-first creator who is redefining content culture. It recognises originality, creative excellence, and a meaningful audience connection. Entrants should demonstrate innovative storytelling approaches, and how they have expanded or evolved their IP. Judges are looking for measurable impact on trends or communities, and standout entries will show how the creator is a trailblazer in audience engagement, pushing the boundaries of what digital-first content can be.
This Award recognises original content funded by a brand that offers high entertainment value and editorial excellence. Judges are looking for seamless brand integration within storytelling that authentically connects with audiences. Strong entries will demonstrate how the content engaged viewers, elevated the brand without overshadowing the narrative, and contributed to wider cultural or community conversations. Originality, strategic alignment, and innovation in execution will be key to standing out.
INNOVATION IN
TECH-ENHANCED STORYTELLING
FAST CHANNEL OF
THE YEAR
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARD
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
OF THE YEAR
Celebrating projects that have broken new ground with the use of technology within storytelling. This category is for entries that use tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI), other technologies or interactivity in creative, narrative-driven ways. The technology must serve the story, not overshadow it. Judges will look for bold uses of emerging technology that elevate the audience experience, bring new dimensions to narrative, and set a precedent for the future of content. Entries should include the creative rationale, production insights, and audience response.
This Award recognises an exceptional Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) channel available through UK streaming services that delivers compelling original content, audience growth, and commercial success. Judges are looking for channels that define their niche and innovate in programming. A strong entry will highlight content strategy, data-led growth, and standout series or formats. User experience and audience loyalty will also factor into the evaluation.
Honouring those who lead the charge in championing representation, this Award recognises programmes from independent production companies that make a tangible impact in diversity and inclusion. This can be achieved through a combination of casting, staffing, and storytelling in front of the camera. Judges will reward approaches that place diversity at the heart of the creative process and the stories being told, both on screen and behind the scenes.
This Award recognises a creator or team of creators that reigns supreme on the YouTube platform and consistently captures viral-worthy moments. They will deliver innovative, high-quality content that engages, entertains, and builds loyal communities. Judges will assess the evolution of the channel, its ability to stay culturally relevant, and how it leverages storytelling, format, and analytics to grow.
The 2025 Indielab Innovation Awards are sponsored by
Media Partner
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