Introducing the Winners of My RØDE Reel 2021

Released 26 Nov 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.

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

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

Documentary

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

Comedy

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

Animation

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

Sound Design

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

People’s Choice Prize 

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

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

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

Watch them all here.

Behind The Scenes

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

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

3^rd 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!