HOLLYWOOD – The International Cinematographers Guild
(ICG, IATSE Local 600) has named eight honorees for its 25th Annual Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA). Celebrating the talent of promising cinematographers, while providing crucial exposure needed to become successful filmmakers, the ECAs are the only awards event in the industry to celebrate and nurture the careers of emerging directors of photography.
The collection of eight selected short films will be showcased at the ECA event on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at the Wolf Theater in the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center, with a reception to follow. The eight winning filmmakers, selected from 106 nationwide submissions, are:
Petros Antoniadis, Camera Operator – Flickering Souls Set Alight
Connor Van Bodell, Film Loader – Nisei
Drew Dawson, Camera Operator – For Those Who Don’t Know How
Edward Guinn, Camera Operator – TORN
Brook Lee Karner, Digital Utility – The Coop
Grant MacAllister, Camera Operator – Blood Positive
Sarah Anne Pierpont, Camera Operator – Juliet
Yusuke Sato, 1st Assistant White – Now Please
Submissions for the Emerging Cinematographer Awards are open to Local 600 members who are not yet classified as directors of photography in the union. Projects submitted are short films, under 30 minutes in length. The nominated films are selected by a panel of established ICG members from across the country. Many ECA honorees from years past moved up the ranks to directors of photography, crediting the ICG’s ECA event as the boost they needed to advance their careers.
Panavision Family of Companies holds the top sponsorship position as the Premier level sponsor. Other sponsors include: Silver: Creamsource, Universal Production Services; Bronze: ARRI, Hawk Anamorphic Los Angeles LP; J.L. Fisher, Inc.; Additional partners include: American Society of Cinematographers, ICG Magazine; and Picture Shop. Sponsor proceeds go towards the ICG Scholarship & Preservation Fund, Inc. which offers educational scholarships for Local 600 members and their eligible family members and dependents.
“The ECA’s are unique because Local 600 is the only organization that honors our newest talent,” says Steven Poster, ASC, chair of the ECA committee. “We’re thrilled to give our members what is often the
first recognition they will receive in their likely long and storied cinematography careers!” Jimmy Matlosz, co-chair of the Guild’s ECA committee says, “After honoring well over 200 aspiring cinematographers for the past 25 years, the ECA’s continue to support and showcase the talent within the union for their excellence in cinematography.”