
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) Awards Committee has announced that FotoKem will receive HPA's prized Charles S. Swartz Award at the 19th HPA Awards gala on Nov. 7. The ceremony will return to the Wolfe Theater here at the Television Academy.
Last given in 2018, the Charles S. Swartz Award is one of HPA's most significant honors; bestowed at the discretion of the HPA Awards Committee to recognize profound and lasting contributions to the media content ecosystem. FotoKem, renowned for over 60 years of service, has played a pivotal role in supporting filmmakers, studios, cinematographers, and artists across diverse film and media landscapes. A team from FotoKem will accept the award.
FotoKem was founded in 1963 by Gerald Brodersen as an independent black and white film lab, located on Cahuenga Boulevard, only a couple of blocks from Universal and Warner Bros. FotoKem is considered one of the world's best artistic and technical partners, whose deep film expertise is accompanied by a philosophy of implementing innovative and sophisticated digital processes. Celebrating decades of collaboration with the industry's most brilliant artists, FotoKem has become a creative hub for all aspects of filmmaking. In addition to FotoKem's main campus in Burbank, their other LA facilities include an editorial facility in Hollywood, Keep Me Posted episodic post in Burbank, and LA Studios / Margarita Mix sound in Hollywood and Santa Monica. They have four wall facilities in several US states and deploy dailies and edit systems globally to support production anywhere in the world. While recognized as playing a critical role in keeping film alive as a viable acquisition and delivery medium, their technical and artistic expertise presents a deep understanding of color, sound, and complex workflow. FotoKem remains an independently owned and operated company, an anomaly in today's post production services sector.
Bill Brodersen, chief executive officer of FotoKem said, On behalf of the entire team at FotoKem, we are deeply honored to be recognized with the Charles S. Swartz Award. From the time my father started FotoKem until today, we have remained dedicated to serving the filmmakers who entrust us with their work. This award shines a light on our teams who work so diligently on behalf of our clients, and the community of artists and technologists who tell stories and share their vision. Thank you to HPA for honoring FotoKem with such a meaningful award.
Of FotoKem being named the recipient of the Charles S. Swartz award, HPA President Seth Hallen said, The HPA Awards Committee and the Board of Directors were unanimous in their desire to honor FotoKem with this award. They have played an undeniable role in keeping film alive as a viable tool for filmmakers. The impact of their unwavering support of film along with their non-stop innovation in many aspects of the post production processes and the talent and skill with which they serve their clients, eloquently illustrate their impact. From dailies to the meticulous restoration of classic films, and outstanding work for picture and sound to mind-blowing 70mm workflows, FotoKem brings an unparalleled level of talent. It is with great pride that the HPA Awards Committee bestows the Charles S. Swartz Award to FotoKem. It is richly deserved thanks to their team that includes some of the most talented creative, technical and operational individuals in the industry.
The award is named in honor of the late Charles S. Swartz, who led the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California from 2002 until 2006 and helped to build it into the industry's premiere test bed for new digital cinema technologies. Swartz passed away in 2007 and this award was established to honor his legacy and contributions to our industry. In addition to a long and successful career as producer, educator and consultant, Swartz served on the Board of Directors of the HPA.
The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous sponsorship of Blackmagic Design, Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services Worldwide, Avid, Colorist Society, Sohonet and Dolby. For sponsorship or program advertising opportunities, contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com.
Ticket sales for the November 7th HPA Awards gala are now open, and available at HPAAwards.com.
For further information visit www.hpaawards.com or email awards@hpaonline.com.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 Update
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
New update adds camera control and monitoring ...
20/04/2026
Maxon Announces Free Tools and Mobile Expansion of ZBrush and Cinema 4D
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
Cinema 4D brings professional 3D workfl...
20/04/2026
Vizrt AI Keyer kills the green screen and creates virtual scenes in any environm...
20/04/2026
Register now - Market & Audience Department Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 11 February 2026
Screen Australia Head of Market & Audience Rakel Tansley
Talking to...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia announces funding for 44 documentary projects that reflect a s...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia appoints Tanya Phegan as Narrative Content Head of Development 17 March 2026
Tanya Phegan
Screen Australia has today announced the appointmen...
20/04/2026
Applications Open for Skip Ahead 11 19 March 2026
Past Skip Ahead recipients (L-R): Macfarlane Bros, Rainbow Bop, Lyanna Kea.
Screen Australia and YouTube Aus...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia empowers the next games generation, including new creatives fro...
20/04/2026
Official Co-production Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 26 March 2026
Image (L-R): Mix Tape, Michele McDonald, Flower & Flour.
Interested in international Co-pro...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia announces Narrative Content funding for 91 projects, including ...
20/04/2026
Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) pinpoints four key workfo...
20/04/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia Announce the 2026 Participants in the T...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia relaunches website with new tools and improved user experience 16 April 2026
Screen Australia relaunches website
Screen Australia has relaun...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Manufacturing is at an inflection point. Across every major industrial economy, ...
20/04/2026
AI agents are transforming how work gets done across all industries, acceleratin...
19/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP and ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus, two SMPTE 2110-native live production switchers. The ATEM ...
19/04/2026
Grass Valley is finding the right balance between its hardware heritage with an ...
19/04/2026
Oracle's strategy rests on the foundational strengths of Oracle Cloud Infras...
19/04/2026
Program Productions, the live sports production industry's leading crewer, i...
19/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, SVG sat down with Joe Scionti, Account Manage...
19/04/2026
At its 2026 NAB Show keynote event, Ross Video came out swinging with one of its...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) is set to present new services within its evertz.io platform...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will showcase its IPMX-certified NUCLEUS platform alongside ...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) is set to showcase ENX at NAB 2026, a media core platform designed to support hybrid SDI and IP infrastructures in production facilities and...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will introduce Studer VistaVUE Touch at NAB 2026, a control surface designed to integrate audio, video and control workflows within a custom...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will highlight X-CALIBER at NAB 2026, an encoding and decodi...
19/04/2026
Cobalt Digital (Booth N1340) will introduce the blueCORE family of standalone si...
19/04/2026
Chyron and Asport (Booth N2441) will demonstrate an integrated sports video work...
19/04/2026
MediaKind (Booth W1743) provided an update on its Multiview deployments at NAB S...
19/04/2026
Calrec (Booth C6907) and Grass Valley (Booth C2408) announced a long-term broadc...
19/04/2026
Oracle is bringing a multi-partner demonstration of Media over QUIC (MoQ)-based live streaming to NAB Show 2026, showcasing how independent systems from multipl...
19/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media announced an expanded partnership with Oracle Cloud Infr...
19/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
19/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP and ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus, two SMPTE 2110-native live production switchers. The ATEM ...
19/04/2026
Now available in VST3, AU and AAX formats
Waves have recently released an update that extends their vocal-alignment plug-in's capabilities to all DAWs -...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...