Shine Global and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Launch Resilience Award; One Day Named Inaugural Winner

The new annual partnership recognizes filmmakers whose work highlights the resilience and strength of children and young people

July 2, 2026 — Shine Global and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) announced the launch of the Shine Global Resilience Award, a new annual partnership recognizing films and filmmakers that highlight the resilience and strength of children in the face of adversity.

The inaugural award was presented to One Day, written and directed by Yazmeen Kanji and produced by Maryam Remtulla, as part of the 14th Annual Best of NFMLA Awards. The honor includes a $2,500 cash prize along with ongoing support, amplification, and opportunities for audience engagement through Shine Global’s team and network.

Set in a suburb outside Toronto, One Day follows Adeela, an Indo-Caribbean Muslim teenager played by Ginny & Georgia’s Becky Ablack, who escapes into colorful daydreams as she searches for the confidence to express herself. Adeela imagines herself as the stylish, artistic, and justice-seeking young woman she wants to become, but she struggles to bring that confidence into her everyday life.

As Adeela decides whether or not to enter a photography contest, she must navigate the limiting expectations and microaggressions she encounters in the classroom. An outspoken classmate encourages her to stop hiding and embrace who she is. Over the course of one transformative day, Adeela discovers that the voice she has been searching for is already her own. Filled with bright colors, playful direct address, and imaginative sequences, One Day brings viewers inside Adeela’s inner world while capturing the courage it can take for a young person to be seen and heard.

“One Day is a joyful celebration of a girl learning to trust her own voice,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “Adeela faces pressures that make her feel she must become smaller or quieter. But director Yazmeen Kanji creates a vibrant world that allows us to experience Adeela’s creativity and humor as well as the everyday challenges she faces. We are proud to recognize Yazmeen and the entire filmmaking team as the first recipients of the Shine Global Resilience Award with NFMLA.”

The partnership builds on Shine Global’s Resilience Awards initiative, which supports films and filmmakers telling stories about the strength, dignity, and power of children and young people. Through cash awards, screenings, professional support, and audience engagement, the initiative helps significant independent films reach wider audiences and extend their impact beyond the screen.

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles provides a platform for emerging and diverse filmmakers from around the world to share their work, connect with audiences, and develop relationships with entertainment industry professionals. The annual Best of NFMLA Awards recognize outstanding projects presented through the organization’s year-round programming.

The NFMLA Shine Global Resilience Award extends the two organizations’ shared commitment to supporting filmmakers whose work expands audiences’ understanding of young people’s experiences and celebrates their courage, creativity, and ability to shape their own futures.

About Shine Global

Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

The Shine Global Resilience Awards recognize and celebrate the films and filmmakers that highlight the resilience and strength of children in the face of adversity. Past Resilience Award Grand Prize winners include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Jen Teixeira and Guy Mossman), Daughters (2024, Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace and produced by Fleur Nieddu), Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen and produced by Mary Racine).  

About NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA)

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization that champions emerging and independent filmmakers and storytellers from around the world and provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized for their contributions, have open audience discussions about their work and connect with industry professionals for insight on distribution, production and representation.

In an effort to showcase, support, educate and build relationships for next-gen filmmakers, NFMLA has rapidly expanded beyond the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival to host an array of workshops, panels, competitions and networking programs, including the InFocus initiative which combats the lack of representation in media by celebrating underrepresented voices. Learn more at newfilmmakersla.com