Introducing the Winners of My RØDE Reel 2021

We are incredibly excited to announce the winners of My RØDE Reel 2021.

This year we upped the ante once again with our biggest major prize to date: US$250,000 in cold hard cash for the film the judges deemed to be the best. There were also dozens of cash and gear prize packs to be won across the genre and special categories, with 30 filmmakers in total taking home a share in over $350,000 in cash.

Two-halves

A still from the winning entry, 'Two Halves' by Chen Wei Choon

Following up on a monumental year like 2020 was always going to be a hard task, but the calibre of films submitted this year truly blew us away. We received over 2000 entries from 114 countries from all corners of the globe, with the winning filmmakers spanning 13 different countries!

So, without further ado, we present the winning films for My RØDE Reel 2021!

Judges’ Prize (as judged by the 2021 My RØDE Reel panel: Jess dela Merced, Ryan Connolly and Sunday Emerson Gullifer)

Winner ($250K): Two Halves – Chen Wei Choon (Malaysia) 

“Full of creativity and craft, 'Two Halves' is a beautifully made short film that absolutely utilises its three-minute runtime to deliver a well-told story,” says My RØDE Reel 2021 judge Sunday Emerson Gullifer. “We are delighted to award it the My RØDE Reel Judges' Prize.”

Drama

1st Place: ‘The Cold Order’ – Lucas Nicotra (Australia) 

2nd Place: ‘Last Birthday’ – Wiktor Szafrański (Poland)

3rd Place: ‘Walk in the Park’ – Chris Lodge (Ireland)

Watch them all here.

Documentary

1st Place: ‘The French Cowboy’ – Jacob Redman (France) 

2nd Place: ‘Xolani’ – Tao Farren-Hefer (South Africa)

3rd Place: ‘EMBAERA’ – Noam Tryber (Israel)

Watch them all here.

Comedy

1st Place: ‘ZERO’ – Tim Hamilton (New Zealand) 

2nd Place: ‘Next in Line’ – Alex Raban (USA)

3rd Place: ‘Pipe Dreams’ – Nigel Shinnors (Ireland)

Watch them all here.

Animation

1st Place: ‘Two Halves’ – Chen Wei Choon (Malaysia)

2nd Place: ‘SKYLER’S BOX’ – John Remar Lavina (Phillippines)

3rd Place: ‘Nighty Night’ – Bruno de Sena Giovanini (Brazil)

Watch them all here.

Sound Design

1st Place: ‘Brainstorming’ – Bruno de Sena Giovanini (Brazil) 

2nd Place: ‘Employee of the Month’ – Scott Pope (Australia)

3rd Place: ‘Misia – A Love Letter to My Daughter’ – Andrzej Rudz (Japan)

Watch them all here.

People’s Choice Prize 

1st Place: ‘The Stage’ – Yadukrishnan O.V (India) 

2nd Place: ‘CHUZALONGO’ – Diego Ortuño Ñ (Ecudor)

3rd Place: ‘The Redemption’ – Mohanad Al-jawaheri (Germany)

Watch them all here.

Behind The Scenes

1st Place: ‘Employee of the Month’ – Scott Pope (Australia) 

2nd Place: ‘Fadeaway’ – Lucas Nicotra (Australia)

3rd Place: ‘Escape’ – Malik Bouabid (Canada)

Watch them all here.

Best Chinese Film 

1st Place: '归宿 (The Home)' – Xie Dawei

2nd Place: ‘家庭驱邪的五个步骤 (Five Ways of Home Exorcism)’ – Dazhao Gege

3rd Place: ‘无价之宝 (Priceless Treasure)’ – Chen Si

Watch them all here.

Check out all of the winning films for this year's competition at the My RØDE Reel website.

Finally, a huge thank you to our awesome sponsors Nanlite, Zhiyun, MZed, Musicbed, Adobe, Pelican, ARRI, DZOFIlm, and Insta360!

My RØDE Reel will return in 2022!