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    My RØDE Reel short competition awards $1 million to varied winners

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1506 Views
    Winning entries for My RØDE Reel 2020 included (l-r) "Amazni Olwandle," "Black.Matters" and "The Starey Bampir"
    SYDNEY, Australia --

    RØDE Microphones has announced the winners of the World’s Largest Short Film Competition, My RØDE Reel, with a $1 million cash prize pool. 

    More than triple the number of entries were submitted this year compared to 2019. These came from 114 countries–more than ever before–with the winning filmmakers spanning 12 different nations from every corner of the globe.

    “We are absolutely blown away by the response to My RØDE Reel,” said 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.”

    The winning films are:

    Judges’ Prize
    (as judged by the 2020 My RØDE Reel panel consisting of Selina Miles, Meyne Wyatt and Ryan Connolly)

    • Winner ($200K): Amanzi Olwandle (Ocean Water) – Timothy Hay (South Africa)    “Amazni Olwandle was absolutely excellent,” said judge 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.”

     
    Comedy
     

    • 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)

     
    Drama
     

    • 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)

     
    Documentary

    • 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)

     
    Animation
     

    • 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)

     
    People’s Choice
     

    • 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)

     
    Best Young Filmmaker
     

    • 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

     
    Sound Design
     

    • 1st Place ($25K): Incident – David O’Connor (South Africa)
    • 2nd Place ($15K): The Accident – Michael Lubin (USA)
    • 3rd Place ($10K): Foleysh – Quokka Production (Italy)

     
    Behind-The-Scenes
     

    • 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)

     
    Best Chinese Film
     

    • 1st Place ($25K): The Bell – Tong Z
    • 2nd Place ($15K): Baptism Mortis ­– Wu Yulin
    • 3rd Place ($10K): The Lonely Zoo – Peiyan Xia
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    Tags:Amanzi OlwandleMy RØDE ReelRØDE Microphones



    Paramount says China’s Tencent withdrew from its Warner Bros bid to avert national security issues

    Thursday, December 11, 2025
    A man rides past the Tencent headquarters in Beijing, China on Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

    Paramount Skydance says the Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings withdrew from its bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery to avert a possible national security review.

    Paramount's revised filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its takeover bid said the Chinese company had dropped its $1 billion financing commitment out of concern, since it would be a "non-U.S. equity financing source," that its bid might be subject to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS. That was even though approval by CFIUS or by the Federal Communications Commission was not a condition of the bid.

    The SEC filing, dated Monday, said that foreign sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, which are providing $24 billion for Paramount's bid, had agreed to give up a right to participate in Warner Bros' management to avoid the additional scrutiny.

    On Monday, Paramount launched a hostile $77.9 billion takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, competing with rival bidder Netflix to buy the company behind HBO, CNN and a famed movie studio.

    Big deals that involve foreign companies are sometimes subject to national security reviews by CFIUS, a U.S. government group chaired by the Treasury Secretary that studies mergers for national-security reasons. It has the power to force companies to change ownership structures or divest completely from the U.S.

    Under former President Joe Biden as well as President Donald Trump, the Treasury Department has sought to strengthen its powers as national security concerns related to foreign investment have increased.

    Tencent is among dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Defense Department has included in a list of companies it... Read More

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