Winners of $1 Million Cash Prize Pool My RØDE Reel Film Competition Announced

RØDE Microphones has announced the winners of the World's Largest Short Film Competition, My RØDE Reel, 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.

"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)

Winner ($200K): AMANZI OLWANDLE (Ocean Water) - Timothy Hay (South Africa)

"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."

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 myrodereel.com. My RØDE Reel will return in 2021!