Three South African Winners in World’s Largest Short Film Competition - One Takes Top Prize of R3M ($200,000)
USA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / November 26, 2020 / RØDE MICROPHONES, ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF MY RØDE REEL 2020
RØDE Microphones has announced the winners of My RØDE Reel, the World’s Largest Short Film Competition. Launched in July, RØDE upped the ante for My RØDE Reel 2020 with a monumental $1 million cash prize pool – the biggest cash prize ever offered in a short film competition.
This incredible opportunity drew an enormous response from the world’s filmmakers, with more than triple the number of entries being submitted compared to 2019. These came from 114 countries – more than ever before – with the winning filmmakers spanning 12 different countries from every corner of the globe.
The winner of the major $200,000 prize in this film competition was: AMANZI OLWANDLE (Ocean Water) by Timothy Hay (South Africa), a stunning piece of film on surfing, the sea and its spiritual meaning. It was shot in the Transkei near Port St. Johns.
Credits: Assistant Director/BTS: Kyle Smith, Focus/Camera Assistant: Dylan Theron, Drone pilot: Timothy Hay, Editor: Timothy Hay, Sound design: Timothy Hay and Assistant: Avuyile 'Avo' Ndamase.
Cast: Older Avo: As himself - Avuyile 'Avo,' Ndamase Younger Avo: Sanele Antiono and Mthethwa Zama (Avo younger brother): Mphathi Ndlovu.
“Amazni Olwandle was absolutely excellent,” says My RØDE Reel judge Ryan Connolly. “Excellent cinematography, rock-solid pace, well-acted, and a ton of heart. It conveyed its emotion and story effortlessly while showing a lot of respect for its audience. I was really floored by it.”
Link to the Film: https://youtu.be/qGsXprDCS08
Stills from the winning entries for My RØDE Reel 2020: (L-R) Amazni Olwandle, Black.Matters, The Starey Bampire
In addition to Timothy Hay’s outstanding feat, fellow South Africans, David O’Connor grabbed first place ($25K) in the Sound Design category for his film Incident and the duo of Gottfried Roodt and Lloyd Wilgen who took third place ($10K) in the Behind The Scenes category for Noodle Power!
“We are absolutely blown away by the response to My RØDE Reel,” says RØDE CEO Damien Wilson.
“Needless to say, 2020 has been very tough for people working in the film industry. This year, we wanted to give filmmakers a much-needed boost by offering the chance a win a substantial amount of cash. We also wanted to encourage entrants to get creative despite any limitations they may be facing, and this was particularly inspiring this year. The passion and artistry we saw in all of the films was extraordinary, and a testament to the resilience of creativity. A huge thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners. We’ll see you all again next year.”
RØDE is proud to present the winning films for My RØDE Reel 2020.
Judges’ Prize (as judged by the 2020 My RØDE Reel panel: Selina Miles, Meyne Wyatt, Ryan Connolly)
Comedy
1st Place ($75K): The Starey Bampire – Amelia Farmer (Australia)
2nd Place ($30K): The Contract – Rick Darge (USA)
3rd Place ($15K): Social Distance – Myles Conti (Australia)
Drama
1st Place ($75K): Black.Matters – Kyndra Kennedy (USA)
2nd Place ($30K): Bear Hugs – Nick McLean (New Zealand)
3rd Place ($15K): This Dream I Have – Mason Beals (USA)
Documentary
1st Place ($75K): The Last Video Store – Arthur Cauty (UK)
2nd Place ($30K): Cynthia – Calvin Lam (USA)
3rd Place ($15K): Origens, A Climbing History – 100 Limite Films (Brazil)
Animation
1st Place ($75K): The Forbidden Zone – Zach Tolchinsky (USA)
2nd Place ($30K): What a Waste – John Remar Lavina (Phillippines)
3rd Place ($15K): Tread – Matt Landkroon (New Zealand)
People’s Choice
1st Place ($25K): Harmless (Anodin) – Mathieu Jonckheere Yokaasan (Belgium)
2nd Place ($15K): Uprooted – Andre Pilli (USA)
3rd Place ($10K): Humans of Kerala – AJ Film Ferry (India)
Best Young Filmmaker
1st Place ($25K): Unicorn Turbo Charge – Micah Martinez
2nd Place ($15K): Bricks and Guns – Joshua Parry
3rd Place ($10K): A Journey Through Wing Chun – Matthews Ma
Sound Design
1st Place ($25K): Incident – David O'Connor (South Africa)
2nd Place ($15K): The Accident – Michael Lubin (USA)
3rd Place ($10K): Foleysh – Quokka Production (Italy)
Behind-The-Scenes
1st Place ($25K): Flying Colours – Devon Dresback (USA)
2nd Place ($15K): Harmless (Anodin) – Mathieu Jonckheere Yokaasan (Belgium)
3rd Place ($10K): Noodle Power! – Gottfried Roodt and Lloyd Wilgen (South Africa)
Best Chinese Film
1st Place ($25K): 铃声 (The Bell) – Tong Z
2nd Place ($15K): 《阴职 (Baptism Mortis) – Wu Yulin
3rd Place ($10K): 罗德短片比赛 《一个人的动物园》(The Lonely Zoo) – Peiyan Xia
Check out all the winning films at the My RØDE Reel website. My RØDE Reel will return in 2021!
About Us
RØDE Microphones and The Freedman Group
RØDE Microphones designs and manufactures high-quality microphones and related accessories for studio, live and location use. Its products are designed and primarily manufactured in Sydney, Australia and exported to 118 countries globally. RØDE is part of The Freedman Group, with APHEX, Event and SoundField. Freedman Electronics celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.
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