SMPTE(R) and HPA(R) Announce Winners of Inaugural SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(R) (SMPTE(R)), a leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, entertainment, and technology industries, and the Hollywood Post Alliance(R) (HPA(R)), the organization serving the professional community by providing expertise, support, tools, and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, and multiplatform content, have announced the winners of the inaugural SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival.

Held Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Hollywood, California, following the Opening Night Reception for the SMPTE 2015 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2015), the film festival showcased submissions demonstrating creative uses of technology in storytelling. SMPTE and the HPA received submissions from all over the world, and the 12 official selections shown at SMPTE 2015 represented Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, the U.K., the U.A.E., and the U.S.

The event was hosted by film director Howard Lukk, who joins the SMPTE staff as director of standards and engineering in January. Following the screening of official selections in SMPTE-DCP format, courtesy of Sundog Media Toolkit, six films earned awards in four categories:

Best Creative Use of Technology to Engage the Audience in the Story

* "Soulmates by Diego Manssur, Vancouver Film School, Canada (5 minutes)

* "After Invasion by Oleg Smykalov, Vancouver Film School, Canada (30 seconds)

Best Portrayal of Entertainment Technology in the Film - Documentary Format

* "Virtual Reality Cinema Project by Anna Dining, Rochester Institute of Technology, U.S. (5 minutes)

* "Girl and the Sea by Aya Al Gergawy, American University of Sharjah, U.A.E. (30 seconds)

Best Creative Use of Virtual Reality in Storytelling

* "PhaseShift by Louis Arrigoni, Southampton Solent University, U.K.

Best in Show (audience award)

* "Building for the Future: A City Tech Tale by Jonathan Burcin, Nicholas J. Burt-Miller, Diana V. David, Andr Gabriel, Jean L. Garcia, Joseph Larsen, Jeffrey N. Lawrence, Anjali Rawat, Gregory A. Scott, NYC College of Technology/CUNY, U.S.

"Our first film festival was a great success in showcasing the talent of up-and-coming members of the media industry, and also in demonstrating the powerful connection between creative and technical innovation, said Leon Silverman, HPA president. "The global nature and quality of submissions this first year was quite impressive, and we look forward to increasing submissions and interest in this important event focused on the future."

Film festival jurors included filmmaker Patrick Creadon; editor and technology consultant Dave Ginsberg; Peter Girardi of Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Blue Ribbon Content (BRC); cinematographer, editor, and director Bobby Hewitt; director of photography Travis LaBella; Patricia Keighley of IMAX Corporation; A. Dale "Bud Mayo of Carmike s Alternative Programming and Distribution; documentary marketing and distribution expert Evan Saxon; Ted Schilowitz of 20th Century Fox and Barco; Richard Welsh of Sundog Media Toolkit Ltd.; and Nick Dager, editor and publisher of the website Digital Cinema Report.

The SMPTE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition is the premier annual event for motion-imaging and media technology, production, operations, and the allied arts and sciences. The SMPTE 2016 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2016), including the 2016 SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival, will take place Oct. 24-28, 2016, at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. Information regarding submissions for the 2016 festival will be posted at www.smpte.org/film-festival in January.

Further information about SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org.

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