Released 12 Nov 2020
We are incredibly excited to announce the winners of My RØDE Reel 2020!
Launched back in July, we really upped the ante for this year's competition with a monumental $1 million cash prize pool – the biggest cash prize ever offered in a short film competition. The response we got was enormous, 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.
Stills from the winning entries for My RØDE Reel 2020: (L-R) 'Amazni Olwandle' by Timothy Hay, 'Black.Matters' by Kyndra Kennedy, 'The Starey Bampire' by Amelia Farmer
“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.”
We are proud to present the winning films for My RØDE Reel 2020.
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.”
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)
Watch them all here.
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)
Watch them all here.
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)
Watch them all here.
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)
Watch them all here.
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)
Watch them all here.
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
Watch them all here.
1st Place ($25K): Incident – David O'Connor (South Africa)
2nd Place ($15K): The Accident – Michael Lubin (USA)
3rd Place ($10K): Foleysh – Quokka Production (Italy)
Watch them all here.
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)
Watch them all here.
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
Watch them all here.
Check out all the winning films at the My RØDE Reel website. And finally, a big thank you to our awesome prize sponsors Lumix, Nanlite, Zhiyun, Mzed, Musicbed, Rhino, Adobe, Brevite, Pelican, Arri.
My RØDE Reel will return in 2021!