#RSFF2015 Winners Announced!
(December 2, 2015) – Los Angeles, CA
Raw Science Film Festival
Hashtags #rawsciencetv #RSTVawards2015
The 2nd Annual Raw ScienceFilm Festival awards prizes to filmmakers who are creating the next generation of great works, while celebrating the wonderment of science in film and the community that supports it. Categories include fiction and non-fiction for both students and professionals. Awards are also given to theatrically released studio films to celebrate the best films of the year prior to the Academy Awards season.
The screening of winners takes place the evenings of December 4 and the awards ceremony on December 5th at the USC Institute of Creative Technologies in Playa Vista, CA. The events are co-hosted by the Space Tourism Society Canada. Mavatar is the premiere sponsor along with Uber, Quest, Unofficial CardBoard, Space.com, Corbis, and Amoeba Records.
12/4 Film Screening
The winning films will be screened with a keynote speech by Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides and attendance by Andy Weir. Event information and tickets are available here.
12/5 Awards Ceremony
This VIP event is to celebrate winners of the Raw Science Film Festival. Awards include Best Picture winner The Martian, Best Technical Innovation for IMAX Laser Projector, and the Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Best Depiction of a Scientific Principle. Event information and tickets are available here.
Best Picture will be presented to producer Aditya Sood for the film The Martian with Andy Weir in attendance. The award for Technical Innovation in Media will be presented to Phil Groves of IMAX for laser projection. Kip Thorne will present the Kip Thorne Gravity Award to Pixar for the depiction of “psychology” in Inside Out.
*There is limited free street parking available on Waterfront Drive and nearby streets
*Self parking available in the ICT building at 12015 Waterfront Drive for $20 cash only
*Uber discount code https://get.uber.com/go/uberon20 for $20 off your first ride
Winners:
Industry Awards
Best Picture, The Martian
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.
Best Technical Innovation, IMAX Laser Projector
As part of its commitment to pushing boundaries and doing things never before done in cinema, IMAX has undertaken the largest R&D investment in the company’s history to develop its next-generation projection and sound system – featuring groundbreaking laser technology. IMAX with laser represents a quantum leap forward in cinema technology – providing audiences with the sharpest, brightest, clearest and most vivid digital images ever, combined with a whole new level of immersive audio.
Kip Thorne Gravity Award, Inside Out
The Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Best Depiction of a Scientific Principle
was initially presented at last year’s event for the portrayal of “gravity” in Interstellar. An American theoretical physicist, Thorne is known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. A longtime friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, he was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) until 2009 and is one of the world’s leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The winner for 2015 is the portrayal of “psychology” in Inside Out.
Festival Awards
Student Dramatic Works < 10 minutes
Triumph of Time by Ortal Sasson
Student Documentary Works < 10 minutes
Science for the Masses by Lauren Knapp & C.S. Ward
Student Dramatic Works > 10 minutes
1st Prize: Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon by Kerry Yang
2nd Prize: Continuance by Jack Klink
Student Documentary Works > 10 minutes
ATTO: An Adventure in the Amazon by Claire Andreae
Professional Dramatic Works < 10 minutes
Golden Shot by Golkalp Gonen
Professional Documentary Works < 10 minutes
River by Stephanie Maxwell
Professional Dramatic Works > 10 minutes
1st Prize – Symmetry by Ruben Van Leer
2nd Prize – The Karman Line by Oscar Sharp
Professional Documentary Works > 10 minutes
1st Place – 4850 Feet Below: The Hunt for Dark Matter by Luke Groskin
2nd Prize – Rosetta comet chaser, a journey to the origins of life by Jean Christophe Ribot
Professional Dramatic Feature
Spare Parts by Sean McNamara
Judges
Mitchell Block (Producer, Academy Award winning BIG MAMA)
William Nix (The Prophet)
Paul Hynek (EZ Numbers, Giant Studios)
Joel Hynek (Visual Effects, The Matrix)
Liz Keim (The Exploratorium)
Hussain Currimbhoy (Sundance Institute)
Steffen Wild (Jim Henson’s Creature Shop)
Iram Parveen Bilal (Josh, The PhD Movie)
Kip Thorne (Interstellar)
Alex Lightman (author, entrepreneur, and futurist)
Jacki Morie (All These Worlds LLC)
Awards Ceremony
Aditya Sood (Producer of The Martian and Deadpool) will accept Best Picture. The Martian author Andy Weir will be in attendance. Phil Groves (Sr VP @ IMAX Distribution) will accept the award for Best Technical Innovation. Kip Thorne will present the Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Pixar’s Inside Out. Speakers include Sulemain Bhakit, Will Nix (Executive Producer, The Prophet), Alex Lightman (futurist and entrepreneur), Jacki Morie (All These Worlds LLC), George Djorgovski (Caltech), and Connie Walter & Matt Kapust from Sanford Underground Research Facility. Fashion designer Chantelle Baier will host a red carpet fashion show that is out of this world.
