Columbia Cell-A-Brates Cinema smartphone filmmaking contest winners announced at Red Carpet Premiere

The City of Columbia announced the winners of the first Columbia Cell-A-Brates Cinema smart phone filmmaking competition, an opportunity created for movie enthusiasts and filmmakers of all age and skill levels to show off their skills.

All entries were viewed and scored by an independent panel of judges including: Austin Grebenc and Jeremy Lethco of Dust of the Ground, Lori Gardner of Mad Monkey, Inc., and Tabitha Safdi with the Nickelodeon Theatre Board of Directors. The following films received the top five prizes, which include not only recognition, but cash prizes:

• First Place: Haints by Tyson Kaiser and Ian Aitken ($7,500)
• Second Place: A Day at the River by The Whitehead Family ($5,000)
• Third Place: Shadows of the Past by Joseph Powell ($2,500)
• Honorable Mention: Three Rivers by Daniel Conrad ($1,500)
• Best Use of Columbia Rivers and Public Spaces: You Belong in Columbia by Jackie Bobo and Breanna McIntosh ($2,500)

The prize-winning films will be featured at a red carpet premiere at The Nickelodeon Theatre on Friday, November 14 at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Rickenmann, winners, their communities, and members of the public. The entries will be shown again on Saturday, November 15, during the matinee screening time at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available at www.nickelodeon.org/events/columbiacell-a-bratescinema/.

The Columbia Cell-A-Brates Cinema competition encouraged film enthusiasts and filmmakers of all skill levels to create new and independent short films using their smartphones. This competition aimed to showcase themes that are uplifting, illustrate or encourage civic or community engagement, bring happiness to others, promote personal growth, beautification or conservation, celebrate creativity, or illustrate resilience.

“We could not be more proud of the creative entries we received,” said Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. “This competition demonstrated how accessible creativity and art are to us all, and celebrated the cinematic talent right here in our Columbia community.”

The Cell-A-Brates Cinema competition is an initiative of Columbia Streams Art, the City of Columbia’s public art program formed by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann.

For more information about the first Columbia Cell-A-Brates Cinema smart phone filmmaking competition, please visit

https://mayor.columbiasc.gov/columbia-cell-a-brates-cinema-cellphone-competition/.