Dune, West Side Story, Encanto and Squid Game were among the winners at the Advanced Imaging Society’s Lumiere Awards during its 12th annual ceremony held Friday (3/4) at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Recognizing distinguished creative and technical achievement, the Lumiere Awards are voted on by members of the Hollywood creative and technology community working in motion pictures, television and emerging media.
The Society honored Warner Bros.’ Dune for Best Live Action Feature Film calling it the “definitive immersive theatrical experience of the year.” Director Villeneuve accepted the award. West Side Story was recognized for Best Motion Picture – Musical, as well as Best Musical Scene or Sequence for the dance challenge in the gymnasium. Paloma Garcia-Lee, who portrayed ‘Graziella’, accepted both awards. Voters commented that “the camera became a part of the choreography, and the visuals were dazzling…a tour de force of storytelling through images.”
Director Peter Jackson was honored with a Lumiere for Best Documentary for his series The Beatles: Get Back; Netflix’s Squid Game received the Award for Best Episodic – Live Action, accepted virtually by Hwang Dong-hyuk, while Arcane won for Best Episodic – Animation, accepted by writers and executive producers Alex Yee and Christian Linke.
Two Lumieres for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song were presented to Encanto for its vibrant visuals, music, animation and story. The film’s stereoscopic supervisor, Darren Simpson, accepted for Feature Film while VP of music production Andrew Page, and Earl Ghaffari, supervising music editor were on hand to accept for Original Song.
The Award for Best Theatrical Scene or Sequence was given to No Time To Die for the “Chase Through Matera” sequence. Accepting the award was Academy Award®-nominated sound editor, Oliver Tarney.
A special Governor’s Cinema Award was presented to Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Society leadership felt that this film encapsulated everything that is great about going to the movies, tying together a franchise of nine films and in turn, delivering for the fans of the series in a joyous and emotional moment.
The Awards for Best Audio for Theatrical went to Nightmare Alley, which del Toro happily accepted, and Best Audio for Episodic TV went to WandaVision, an accolade accepted by sound editors Gwen Whittle and Danielle Dupre.
Dune was also recognized with the award for Best Use of HDR in a Live Action Feature. Apple TV+’s Foundation was recognized for Best Use of HDR – episodic TV and was received by VFX supervisor Mike Enriquez.
Machu Picchu and the Spirit of the Condor won for Best VR Entertainment Experience and Best Use of AR went to Expo Dubai Xplorer, accepted by Magnopus’ Ben Grossmann and Daisy Leak. Emma Webb, stereo supervisor, and Madalynn Sadeghian, stereo producer, received the award for Best 2D to 3D Conversion for Shang Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings.
The Society’s Annual Sir Charles Wheatstone Award, which is presented each year to an entire organization for achieving excellence in supporting artists and storytellers, was presented to Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, with Epic’s Jonathan Litt, Alejandro Arango & Chris Kulla on hand to accept.
In addition, three special awards were handed out, providing the highlights of the day. The inaugural Gene Kelly Visionary Award was presented to Academy Award®-winning director and producer Guillermo del Toro by Patricia Ward Kelly, Gene Kelly’s widow and biographer, who praised del Toro as the “kind of creative genius that Gene most admired.”
The first-ever EARTHDAY.ORG “Voices For The Earth Award” was given to Academy Award®-winning writer, director and producer Adam McKay, presented by Kathleen Rogers, president of EARTHDAY.ORG, noting McKay’s humorous approach to conveying the seriousness of the threat we are all facing.
And finally, the esteemed Harold Lloyd Award was presented to Academy Award®-nominated director Villeneuve by Suzanne Lloyd, chairman of Harold Lloyd Entertainment. Villeneuve represents the true spirit of this award, using his creative teams and the latest technology to empower his storytelling in the service of entertaining millions of fans.
The complete list of winners:
- Best Documentary: The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
- Best Audio – Episodic: WandaVision (Disney+)
- Best Use of AR: Expo Dubai Xplorer
- Best Use of VR: Machu Picchu and the Spirit of the Condor
- Best Original Song: Encanto/We Don’t Talk About Bruno (Disney Animation)
- Governor’s Cinema Award: Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony / Marvel)
- Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Live Action: Dune (Warner Bros.)
- Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Episodic: Foundation (Apple TV+)
- Best 2D to 3D Conversion: Shang Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney)
- Best Musical Scene or Sequence: West Side Story, “The Dance at the Gym” (20th Century Studios)
- Best Episodic – Animated: Arcane (Netflix)
- Best Motion Picture – Musical: West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
- Sir Charles Wheatstone Award: Epic Games’ Unreal Engine
- Best Episodic – Live Action: Squid Game (Netflix)
- Best Feature Film – Animated: Encanto (Disney)
- Voices For The Earth Award: Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
- Gene Kelly Visionary Award: Guillermo del Toro
- Best Audio – Theatrical: Nightmare Alley (Searchlight)
- Harold Lloyd Award: Denis Villeneuve
- Best Feature Film – Live Action: Dune (Warner Bros.)
- Best Scene or Sequence in a Feature Film: No Time To Die (MGM/UA Releasing)
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More