2025 Team Up Folktale Oscars

Watch the Most Outstanding Video and all other category nominees by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Winners and nominees from seven Pacific Island countries were recognised at the fourth annual Team Up Folktale Oscars, held on May 20 2025. Similar to previous years, the inaugural event was delivered virtually, with in-person hubs hosted in Canberra and across the Pacific.

The Oscars celebrated the exceptional real-life impact stories from the Australian Government's Team Up sport for development programs in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Nauru. It also highlighted the talented individuals behind the camera, who have used the Folktale storytelling platform to bring their programs' stories to life in powerful and creative ways.

Inclusive GymBad’s Joyce Koiari from Papua New Guinea took home the top award for Most Outstanding Video as well as the awards for Best Director and Best Disability Inclusion Story, accumulating an impressive six Folktale Oscar wins over the four years since the video storytelling initiative began.

In her acceptance speech, Joyce reflected on the word “impact” - sharing how it continues to drive her to highlight the powerful stories and positive change brought about by the Inclusive GymBad program. “We put so much time into capturing and submitting these videos, and we’re just grateful to be recognised.”

Joining the winners’ circle for the first time was League for Life from Tonga, who won Best Series of Videos, Best Gender Story and received nominations in the Best Presenter and Best Director categories. 

New to the Folktale submissions were our programs from Solomon Islands, who only began contributing stories just last year. Their debut was marked by a surprising win from Regina Lepping of Women Make Waves, who claimed the Best Showcase award.

The Solomon Islands were also well represented with nominations from Kevin Olea of Smash Down Barriers in the Best Impact Story category, and Nyrick Zuna from Hook in4 Health, who was nominated in the Best Directory category.

A grateful Nyrick shared a video message about the recognition and said he’s looking forward to capturing even more powerful stories of impact from his program.

The full list of Team Up Folktale Oscar winners (highlighted in each category) and nominees below: