On Sunday 18 August, at the Closing Night of NZIFF 2024 in Auckland, the winners of the inaugural Fresh Competition and Frames Competitions were announced. These competition strands were created to draw attention to some of the best narrative feature and documentary debuts of the last 12 months.

The ten films in the Fresh Competition were judged by a jury comprising of Pulkit Anora (Filmmaker, New Zealand/India), Anu Rangachar (Producer and Programmer, India) and David White (Filmmaker, NZ).

The Main Award was awarded to Truong Minh Quy for his film Viet and Nam.

The jury said, "The Jury wishes to recognise Viet and Nam for its multi-layered ability to seamlessly merge political and personal narratives, while maintaining its stunning visual poetry and emotional depth."

A Special mention went to Mo Harawe for The Village Next to Paradise.

The jury said, "The jury wishes to recognise the film's ability to capture the grace and beauty of human resilience and its triumph of cinematic artistry against formidable odds."

The Audience Award was awarded to Oceans Are the Real Continents by Italian filmmaker Tommaso Santambrogio.

The eight films in the Frames Competitions were judged by a jury comprising of Donsaron Kovitvanitcha (Producer and Programmer, Thailand) Martin Sagadin (Filmmaker, New Zealand), and Loren Taylor (Filmmaker, New Zealand).

The Main Award was awarded to Ibrahim Nash'at for his film Hollywoodgate.

The jury said, "Nash'at's silent witness reveals to us the depth, scale and depravity of the lust for war and power. It is staggeringly courageous filmmaking. It’s more than just an intimate portrait of the Taliban, it feels like a vital plea to behold the carnage the US war machine inflicts and the agony of the Afghan people. It is powerfully delivered in every aspect of the film-making - the sound design and score in particular. An astounding and shattering feat."

Special mention went to Shiori Ito for her film Black Box Diaries.

The jury said, “We were moved by the bravery, stamina and selfless commitment that is at the heart of this film. You can’t watch it without becoming aware of the cost to the filmmaker’s own well-being - to tell her story over and over until the change she seeks is achieved. A lion-hearted documentary.”

Shiori Ito's Black Box Diaries also received the Audience Award.