The second Videoclip Italia Awards has announced the shortlists in 18 award categories ahead of the ceremony which takes place in Rome on Sunday, June 11th.

The competition, created to recognize producers, directors and professionals in the Italian and international music videos industry, has gathered 240 entries in categories encompassing various musical genres (pop, rock, trap and rap, electronic, indie and alternative), technical aspects (cinematography, editing, production design, VFX, color grading, styling, make-up & hair) and special sections with awards for low-budget music videos, animation, director of the year (including an award for directors under 25 years old) plus one special award for the Best International Music Video.

The jury, consisting of 68 international and Italian experts in the field, has selected the 5 finalists for each category. Additionally, there is a Best Italian Music Video category, and its winner will be chosen from the winners in the other categories.

The music video with the most nominations is Maneskin's The Loneliest, directed by Tommaso Ottomano. It received five nominations for Best Rock, Best Editing, Cinematography, Styling and VFX. Ottomano is also among the finalists for Director of the Year, in contention with Francesco Lettieri, who also directed one of the music videos with the highest number of nominations, Partenope by Liberato - with four nods, for Best Electronic, Best Production Design, Styling and Make Up & Hair.

Also notable along the selection are directors Giada Bossi - recently signed to Agile Films in the UK - who has received four nominations (Best Director, Best Pop, Electronic and Alternative Music Video), and Enea Colombi, who has been shortlisted for two awards (Best Director and Best Pop Music Video) with Ovunque sarai for Irama. This video is also nominated for two technical awards: Best Cinematography and VFX.

In the Best International Music Video category is Floria Sigismondi, nominated for her work on Unholy by Sam Smith feat. Kim Petras. Additionally, Charlie Robbins, is in competition with Technicolour by The Comet is Coming, and Aube Perrie has also made his mark with Music for a Sushi Restaurant for Harry Styles. The other nominees in the category are Cyprien Clément-Delmas, a French director based in Barcelona, who directed Easy Prey by Moderat (produced by Caviar), and the Argentinians Hernan Corera and Juan Piczman, who directed Nadie for Sin Bandera.

Alessio Rosa and Nicola Marceddu, the founders of Videoclip Italia Awards, have commented: "For the second consecutive year, our Awards showcase the best of Italian music videos to the public. Once again, the quality of the submitted videos was exceptionally high, with works that can undoubtedly be appreciated beyond national borders."

Ahead of the ceremony on June 11th - at Monk, in Rome - there will be a panel discussion on the current state of the music video industry. "Videoclip Italia Awards is more than just a celebratory event," say Rosa and Marceddu. "Despite being in its second edition, it has already become a point of reference for those in the industry. The awards ceremony will provide participants with an opportunity to meet, engage in discussions, and foster new collaborations, thereby igniting a constructive dialogue on the state of music videos in Italy.

"Moreover, the extensive network of international relationships we are building will enable us to promote the immense talent pool
our country has to offer far beyond our borders. This is something that deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated with an award of this nature."

• Discover all the Videoclip Italia Awards 2023 nominees here. More on the awards event here