Cirque du Soleil, National Geographic Among Nominees for 2016 NYC Drone Film Festival

Nominations have been announced for the 2nd Annual New York City Drone Film Festival, the world's first film festival dedicated to works filmed by drones.

The nominees include Cirque du Soleil's Sparked, National Geographic's Lava Chaser, Corridor Digital's The Smallest Empire, Jordan Rubin's The Drone and the NBC News coverage of the Nepal Earthquake. The complete list of nominees can be found below!

The festival, with presenting sponsor GE, will be held March 4-6, 2016 at the Directors Guild of America Theater.

"The quantity and quality of this year's submissions is outstanding," said festival founder and director Randy Scott Slavin. "With 330 submissions coming from 45 countries, drone filmmaking is a not merely a passing fad but a worldwide phenomenon that's here to stay."

Renowned architect Bjarke Ingels and Yahoo Tech founder David Pogue will join other exceptional individuals from a variety of disciplines in art, media and technology on the Festival Jury.

Awards will be presented in 14 categories, including Best Narrative Film, Best News/Documentary Film, Best Extreme Sports Film and Best Dronie, a SELFIE taken with a drone.

The schedule for the three-day event is as follows:

Friday, March 4
NYC Drone Film Festival Opening Night Party

Saturday, March 5
11:30am - 6pm Seminar Series
A dynamic slate of interactive panel discussions on drone technology, policy and creativity
6pm -- Red Carpet and Pre-Show
The only event where drones walk the red carpet alongside humans
7:30pm -- Screening and Award Ceremony

Sunday, March 6
Day of Drones at The Liberty Science Center
Join dozens of drone pilots as they fly their drones inside the Liberty Science Center along with drone battling and drone racing plus screenings of the 2016 festival throughout the day

The 2016 NYC Drone Film Festival Jury:

BJARKE INGELS
BJARKE INGELS GROUP
DAVID POGUEFOUNDER, YAHOO TECH
LINDA BOFFCMO, GENERAL ELECTRIC
RUSSEL PRESTON BROWNSENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
MICHELE M. DIXSVP, PROGRAMMING AND DEVELOPMENT, AXS TV
PHILIP BLOOMFILMMAKER
PAUL HOFFMANCEO, LIBERTY Science CENTER
ERIC CHENGAUTHOR AND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHER
JASON HARRISCEO, MEKANISM
RENEE LUSANOPHOTOGRAPHER, ILLUSTRATOR
PARRIS MAYHEWDIRECTOR, STEADICAM OPERATOR, CRO-MAGS GUITARIST
SCOT REFSLANDCEO, DRONE NATIONALS & DRONEWORLDS

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2016 NYC Drone Film Festival Nominees:

NARRATIVE
E.T. Drone Home Taylor Chien (USA)
The Smallest EmpireSam Gorski, Corridor Digital (USA)
Call to the WildGeorge Bruce Wilson (USA)
NostalgiaTim Sessler, Michael Marantz and Drew English (USA)

X-FACTOR
Dance CrazyKatee Laine and Drew Roberts (USA)
SatlapseJamie Brightmore (United Kingdom)
ChromaticityPaul Trillo (USA)
A Man with a RakeJehan-Benjamin Tarain (France)

LANDSCAPE
Into the WestMike Bishop (Canada)
Ghent in 2 MinutesMichael Tiger and Michel Blanckaert (Belgium)
Roadtrip: New MexicoJoe Pickard and Corey Eisenstein (USA)
Wild ScotlandJohn Duncan (United Kingdom)

EXTREME SPORTS
Acrophobia: I'm Afraid of HeightsPhilippe Woodtli (Switzerland)
The WindKarim Iliya (USA)
AfterGlow: Lightsuit SegmentNick Waggoner and Mike Brown (USA)
Teahupo'o Du CielEric Sterman, Brent Bielmann and SURFING Magazine (USA)

TECHNICAL
Flying Through DresdenStefan Mueller (Germany)
All AwayColin Solal Cardo (France)
Rise and ShineRobert McIntosh (USA)
Hello WorldAsa Hammond and Tarik Abdel-Gawad (USA)

FREESTYLE/FPV
Dive Dive DiveSteele Davis (USA)
HawaiiballsChad Nowak (Australia)
Office SpaceJonathon Davis (USA)
AbandonadoCarlos Puertolas (USA)

ARCHITECTURE
Desert FortressJeffrey Worthington (USA)
Greystone RisingJody Johnson (USA)
1500' TV TowerTodd Thorin (USA)
Harness the SunJordan Overman (USA)

FEATURING DRONES
Zombie vs. DroneAlrik Bursell (USA)
SparkedCirque du Soleil, ETH Zurich and Verity Studios (Switzerland)
Drone BlenderDamien Gallagher and Billy May (United Kingdom)
The DroneJordan Rubin (USA)

DRONIE
Dronie ProposalTarsicio Sañudo Suarez (Mexico)
Dronie MarietasTarsicio Sañudo Suarez (Mexico)
Drone in BarrelEric Sterman and Jamie Obrien (USA)
The Shark DronieFlorian Fischer (Germany)
A Man, a Rake and a DroneJehan-Benjamin Tarain (France)

SHOWREEL
This Is TiltTilt (Norway)
Skynamic Pilot ReelSkynamic (USA)
Close to the MountainYann Havis (France)

NEWS/DOCUMENTARY
Expedition AlaskaBrian J. Leitten (USA)
Nepal EarthquakeAbraham Villela/NBC News (USA)
Lava ChaserSam Cossman, Jeff Hertrick and National Geographic (USA)

STILL PHOTOGRAPHY
Iceland From AboveStefan Forster (Iceland)
Al Marmoum Camel RacingShoayb Khattab (United Arab Emirates)
Chicago BeanDirk Dallas (USA)
Sunrays in the Mist(Estonia)
Mont Saint MichelJérémie Eloy (France)

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The NYC Drone Film Festival is the world's first event exclusively dedicated to celebrating THE ART OF drone cinema. The festival provides a platform for aerial filmmakers to showcase their work, shot anywhere in the world, emphasizing innovative storytelling, flight technique and aesthetic beauty. The festival offers an international platform for filmmakers from every corner of the globe to exhibit their work in front of industry professionals and the drone cinema fan community.

Watch the mind-bending trailer for the festival below!