ASTORIA, NY.- Museum of the Moving Image announced the 2023 winners of the Marvels of Media Awards, recognizing the achievements of media-makers on the autism spectrum. The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception at the Museum on Thursday, March 30, an evening that kicks off the annual Marvels of Media festival and exhibition. Twenty-one works were selected from this year’s open call, which received 200 submissions. Winners of this year’s awards include Jorge R. Gutiérrez for his monumental animated work, the Netflix limited series Maya and the Three; filmmaker Devon Leaver for her experimental film Galoot; Chloe Hayden for her performances in the Netflix series Heartbreak High and her viral social media video “A Day in the Life of a Netflix Actor”; Steven Fraser for his animated short Coming Out Autistic; and more. From quirky animations to reflexive social media videos, this edition of the annual program represents an eclectic array of exemplary work. The Marvels of Media Awards will recognize 21 media works in 13 award categories including Series, Limited Series, Performance in a Series, Animation, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Social Media Video, Experimental Film, Collaborative Innovation, Children’s Short, Video Game, Student Narrative Short, and Student Animated Short.
“The second edition of Marvels of Media furthers our commitment to enhancing the visibility of neurodiverse media creators in the audiovisual galaxy. The media works featured in this edition radiate creativity and originality. They shine from different ages, backgrounds, and countries. For the majority of awardees and artists, this is their first experience exhibiting their work in a museum setting. This initiative also broadens the cultural horizons of all museum visitors, providing them with a glimpse of the vibrant media-making landscape of ASD creators,” said Leonardo Santana-Zubieta, MoMI’s Director of Education.
“The best work of neurodiverse media-makers is unconstrained by standard social norms, giving them a natural power of invention. It is wonderful that Museum of the Moving Image devotes an exhibition to their work—appropriately titled ‘Marvels of Media,’” said Museum Trustee Josh Sapan.
The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of judges including President of the Jim Henson Foundation Cheryl Henson, author Louis Chesney, President and CEO of The Florida Holocaust Museum Carl Goodman, actor Sue Ann Pien, and MoMI’s Director of Education Leonardo Santana-Zubieta. See below for a full list of 2023 awardees.
Marvels of Media Limited Series Award
Winner: Maya and the Three – Director Jorge R. Gutiérrez
Marvels of Media Series Award
Winner: Dead End: Paranormal Park – Creator Hamish Steele
Marvels of Media Performance in a Series Award
Winner: Actor Chloe Hayden (Heartbreak High)
Marvels of Media Animation Award
Winner: Coming Out Autistic – Animator Steven Fraser
Honorable Mention: Child of Témoin – Animator Cody Fordham
Marvels of Media Documentary Feature Award
Winner: Tape Over – Director Mary Rhymer
Marvels of Media Documentary Short Award
Winner: Hospice – Exceptional Minds with Animators Andrew Turney, Craig Hills, Dean Julien, Dylan Carbonell, Liam Brosnan, Sam Hardin, Shad Wilde, Stephen Storti, Veronica Dolcich
Honorable Mention: Listen – Creators Jordyn Zimmerman and Tania Melnyczuk
Honorable Mention: Inner Wound Real – Director Carrie Hawks
Marvels of Media Social Media Video Award
Winner: “A Day in the Life of a Netflix Actor” – Content creator and actor Chloe Hayden
Honorable Mention: "ASTROLOGY FOR DUMMIES" – Content creator Paige Layle
Marvels of Media Experimental Film Award
Winner: Galoot – Director Devon Leaver
Honorable Mention: FACE – Director Sophia Kyriacou
Marvels of Media Children’s Short Award
Winner: Mr. Copycat – Director Kieran Firth-Bernard
Marvels of Media Video Game Award
Winner: Ava – Creators Vanessa Castañeda Gill, Lucas Harrington Psy.D., Jessica Scott Honorable Mention: Car Machine – Developer Shane McKaskle
Honorable Mention: Playground – Developer Marcus Ansley
Marvels of Media Student Narrative Short Award
Winner: Them – Director Samara Huckvale
Marvels of Media Student Animated Short Award
Winner: You Don’t Recognize the Faces on TV – Animator Daniel Oliver Lee
Honorable Mention: Soap Opera – Animator Cameron Carr
Marvels of Media Collaborative Innovation Award
Winner: Use Your Imagination – Spectrum Laboratory
“It means the world to be honored by the Marvels of Media Awards for a show which helped me as much as I hope it’s helped others. Dead End was made entirely in lockdown, a time which was hard for everyone’s mental health. To work on something that celebrates and empowers neurodivergent people was amazing and I’m so glad it connected with the people we made it for,” said Hamish Steele, 2023 Marvels of Media Awardee.
MoMI’s Marvel of Media aims to uplift and bring attention to autistic media-makers who work across a range of disciplines and genres, including animation, documentary and video games, through its awards ceremony, film festival, and exhibition. As part of the festival programming, the Museum will present screenings, a virtual directors’ roundtable, and puppetry workshop. See below for a full festival schedule.
Through Marvels of Media, the Museum strives to increase opportunities for and representation of established and aspiring autistic media-makers, and to expand museum accessibility for autistic visitors by offering a sensory-friendly space, sensory kit, social stories, adaptable tours, and workshops. Assistive listening devices and open captioning are available for Marvels of Media screenings.
Organized by guest curator and filmmaker Carrie Hawks, the exhibition will share the artistry of the Marvels of Media honorees, providing a perspective of media-making through the lens of autism. Each of the filmmakers in the exhibition unveils a new way of seeing with their craft. A compilation of five short films will play in a loop, with their accompanying posters. The exhibition, in the Museum’s Fox Amphitheater area, will be on view through April 30.
