The Advanced Imaging Society (AIS) has unveiled the winners of the 2026 Lumiere Awards, recognizing outstanding creative and technical achievements during its 16th annual celebration. The awards honor the artists, engineers, and innovators whose work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and cinematic technology.
The annual Lumiere Awards luncheon was held today (2/9) at the Beverly Hills Hotel, welcoming more than 200 invited guests representing leading media, entertainment, and technology companies from Hollywood to Silicon Valley. The winners were selected by members of the Hollywood creative and technology community
Often described as the “Oscars for geeks,” the Lumiere Awards celebrate the growing role of technological innovation in expanding the possibilities of storytelling for audiences worldwide. “These Lumiere winners produced their brilliant stories by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible creatively and technically,” said Jim Chabin, president of the Advanced Imaging Society. “In these honorees we see our industry’s future–and that future is truly more exciting than ever.”
The Society awarded the Best Live Action Feature Film Lumiere Award to Warner Bros.’ multi-nominated Sinners, with Best Supporting Actor nominee Delroy Lindo on hand to present the award to producer Sev Ohanian. Additionally, several members of the Sinners sound team–Chris Welcker, Steve Boeddeker, and Benny Burtt–were present to accept the Lumiere for Best Audio for a Theatrical Film. Voters praised Sinners, calling it a brilliant and meaningful story, and noted that as a film, it was “perfectly executed.”
The Lumiere for Best Animated Feature Film went to Zootopia 2. Actor and voice artist Patrick Warburton presented the award to director Byron Howard. Voters noted not only its stunning visuals, but its “unprecedented technical integration across every production dimension.”
The Lumiere for Best Documentary went to Picturehouse’s The King of Color, written and directed by Patrick Creadon about Larry Herbert, inventor of the Pantone Matching System, which established a universal worldwide standard for color. Creadon was there to accept the award and read a note of appreciation from 97-year-old Herbert. An AIS statement read, “We’re an organization spanning filmmaking, postproduction, and technology, united by a commitment to educating audiences. The King of Color tells our origin story.”
The Lumiere for Best Motion Picture – Musical went to Wicked: For Good. AIS honoree and director Jon M. Chu accepted the award, Voters commented on “the way it perfectly integrated difficult, high-production value VFX and imagery work into the musical storytelling throughout the film. The work in all departments was extraordinary in this film.”
The Lumiere for Best Theatrical Scene or Sequence was awarded to Avatar: Fire and Ash for the 3rd act Flux Devil fire tornado battle sequence. Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon of Wētā FX accepted the award on behalf of the VFX team–Joe Letteri (Wētā FX) and Richie Baneham of Lightstorm Entertainment, who also attended. Voters unequivocally agreed that the unforgettable third-act sequence once again set a new benchmark for visual effects–driven storytelling.
Among the episodic winners was Andor, Season 2, which received the Lumiere for Best Episodic – Live Action, accepted by executive producer John Gilroy; while the award for Best Episodic – Animation went to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, accepted by showrunner Jeff Trammell.
Other technical awards went to Apple TV’s Severance for Best Audio – Episodic, accepted by Chris Fogel, scoring mixer of Severance. Stranger Things Season 5 won the Lumiere for Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Episodic and was accepted by colorist Jared Arkulary from Company 3, and F1 won Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Feature Film, accepted by Company 3 colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld.
Google was presented with the Society’s annual Sir Charles Wheatstone Award for its stream of creative innovations that have built the digital infrastructure powering media, including its VEO and Imagen models, Google Cloud and YouTube production tools. The award was accepted by Anil Jain, Global Managing Director of Strategic Industries.
As storytellers and technology leaders increasingly meld their talents and technologies, the Society recognized five organizations for their “impact and innovation” in driving the media and entertainment ecosystem forward this year. Production Technology Lumiere Awards were presented to: AMD received a Lumiere for their EPYC CPU’s and Threadripper PRO workstation tools; Conductor, by CoreWeave, was recognized with a Lumiere for their desktop tools for cloud optimization; Flawless, the first AI company to be recognized with a Lumiere Award for pioneering Assistive AI that preserves and supports human creativity; 6P Color was recognized for their “Full Color Range” format for electronic color imagery; DisneyResearch|Studios was honored with a Lumiere for its Artistically Controllable ML Stereo Conversion toolset.
In addition, VUE and CEO Tim Richards were honored with the Society’s Governor’s Award for Cinema Excellence for their new generation of premium EPIC screen cinemas, featuring state of the art laser projection and sound.
Three Special Honors were handed out, providing the highlights of the day:
Ethan Hawke was honored with the 2026 Distinguished Artist Award for his Oscar-nominated performance as Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon. The accolade was presented to him by producer and former president of Lucas Films Kathleen Kennedy, who has worked with Hawke on films since the beginning of his career. Presenting Hawke with his Lumiere award, she noted, “Whether he’s playing a young idealist, a tortured poet, or – most recently–Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon, Ethan brings the same deep commitment to showing us the essence of what makes us human. His work invites us to feel more, understand more, and care more. That honesty, that humanity, is at the heart of everything he does. Ethan doesn’t just step into the spotlight–He is the light.”
Director Chu was awarded the inaugural Judy Garland Legacy Award, which was introduced by Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft, and presented by actor Josh Gad, whom Jon is currently directing in Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Created to commemorate Judy Garland’s unparalleled legacy, the award honors artists who continue to carry her spirit forward through bold, resonant, and imaginative filmmaking. Lorna Luft had previously remarked that she found Chu to be “one of the most important, generous, and brilliantly talented directors within this new generation of filmmakers.” Luft added, “Jon is probably the only filmmaker who could have beautifully bridged the world of the original Oz film with this exuberant new generation of Wicked fans. He was the perfect fit to uphold Garland’s legacy, both as a Hollywood icon and as a musical film pioneer.”
And finally, the esteemed Harold Lloyd Award was presented to Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer–whose hit film F1 received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture–by Suzanne Lloyd, chairman of Harold Lloyd Entertainment, along with F1 star Damson Idris. Kosinski and Bruckheimer have forged a creative partnership that pushes the boundaries of cinematic realism, emotional storytelling, and technological innovation in multiple films that have defined the theatrical experience for a new generation. They make movies that remind us why theaters exist.
The complete list of winners:
Best Feature Film – Live Action: Sinners
Best Feature Film – Animation: Zootopia 2
Best Documentary: The King of Color
Best Motion Picture – Musical: Wicked: For Good
Best Audio – Theatrical: Sinners
Best Audio – Episodic: Severance
Best Original Song: “Golden,” from KPop Demon Hunters
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Feature Film: F1
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Episodic: Stranger Things Season 5
Best Musical Scene or Sequence: KPop Demon Hunters – “Golden”
Best Theatrical Scene or Sequence: Avatar: Fire and Ash – “Flux Devil”
Best Episodic – Animation: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Best Episodic – Live Action: Andor Season 2
Best International 3D Documentary: NHK for The Mark of Beauty Tokyo Imperial Palace
Best Use of VR: Dolphins of the Reef, Immotion
Production Technology Awards: AMD, DisneyResearch|Studios Flawless, 6P Color, CoreWeave
Governor’s Award for Cinema Excellence: VUE
Sir Charles Wheatstone Award: Google
Judy Garland Legacy Award: Jon M. Chu, Wicked: For Good
Harold Lloyd Award: Joseph Kosinski & Jerry Bruckheimer, F1
