The Advanced Imaging Society has announced the winners of the 2022 Lumiere Awards.
The Lumiere awards were handed out at the AIS March 4 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. At the awards, “Dune” won top honors as best live action feature film, while “Encanto” won the animated film category and “West Side Story” won for best musical. The top documentary prize went to “The Beatles: Get Back,” while “Squid Game” won the live action episodic category. Netflix animated series “Arcane” won best animated episodic.
The inaugural Gene Kelly Visionary Award was given to Guillermo Del Toro for his innovative spirit as a filmmaker. The award was presented by Patricia Ward Kelly, Gene Kelly’s widow and biographer. Del Toro spoke to the next generation of filmmakers. “When somebody asks what is the role of the museum or the Academy and how we could treat the past, we should preserve it so we can change.” He added. “We need to understand that we should pursue excellence, but not elitism, that we should honor those that make the movies and all those that come forth.”
AIS also handed out several special honors during the ceremony. The Governor’s Cinema Award was given to “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” for how the film encapsulated the greatness of the theatrical film experience. The award was accepted by Evan Jacobs, the stereoscopic supervisor of the film. The annual Sir Charles Wheatstone Award, which is provided to an organization in recognition of their support of artists and storytellers, went to Epic Games and its popular and widely used Unreal Engine. The Harold Lloyd Award, which honors a creative who used technology to advance their storytelling, went to Denis Villeneuve for his work on “Dune.”
Villeneuve who has spoken out about day and date releases stressed the importance of the cinema-going experience. During his acceptance speech, he said, “Cinema was born in theaters. The language was created for the big screen. Today these roots have been weakened by the pandemic. I think it is imperative to bring back an equilibrium between the theatrical experience and their streaming services. Don’t get me wrong. I love streaming, [it’s a] powerful tool.” He went on to say, “But theatre needs a reasonable window of time in order to preserve that original language. I absolutely believe that there is space for both to exist. But theaters need our love right now. Otherwise, we may lose something even more fundamental.” He added as human beings we need a communal experience and that is the very essence of the human experience. He concluded by saying, “We are meant to be together not isolated.”
Also at the ceremony, Adam McKay was honored with the inaugural “Voices for the Earth Award,” presented by Earthday.org president Kathleen Rogers, for his film “Don’t Look Up” and its commentary on the climate crisis.
Now in its 12th year, the Lumiere Awards recognize achievement in immersive storytelling through the use of advanced visual technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, stereo 3D, real-time rendering, 360 video, high dynamic range and more. The awards honor creatives across a wide variety of mediums, including film, television, advertising, gaming and online experiences. In addition to honoring technical achievement, the awards body also hands out awards for the top films and TV shows of the year that the AIS consider to be immersive experiences.
View the full list of the Lumiere Award winners below.
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: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from “Encanto”
(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 Plus)
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 – Animation: “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 Villeneueve
Best Feature Film – Live Action: “Dune” (Warner Bros)
Best Scene or Sequence in a Feature Film: “No Time To Die” (MGM/UA Releasing)
