MoMI - Marvels of Media ExhibitionTaking Place March 31

The Very First Media Awards Ceremony, Film Festival, and Exhibition Celebrating Media-Makers with Autism

Press Preview: Thursday, March 24, 2022

New ‘Marvels of Media Exhibition’ runs thru April 2022

New York, New York — Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is thrilled to announce the winners of the inaugural Marvels of Media Awards, the country’s very first media awards ceremony, film festival, and exhibition celebrating media-makers on the autism spectrum. The open call for the first edition of this annual program received 3,071 nominations from 117 countries, from which 20 media works were chosen for awards in 12 categories including: Animated Short, Collaborative Innovation, Digital Art, Documentary, Experimental Film, Mockumentary, Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Series, Video Game, Student Animated Short, and Student Video Game.

"Through the Marvels of Media Awards, the Museum is further affirming our commitment to supporting the creative endeavors and pursuits of neurodiverse media-makers of all ages and backgrounds, and to help forge pathways within the media and entertainment industries through which these makers can have a substantive impact on our culture,” said Carl Goodman, MoMI Executive Director. “We are indebted to our trustee Josh Sapan for conceiving of this initiative and look forward to celebrating the work of the winners and runners up on March 31 and beyond at the Museum.”

The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of judges including Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Pantoliano; award-winning actor Tony Goldwyn; President of the Jim Henson Foundation Cheryl Henson; journalist Paula Zahn; CEO of Take-Two Interactive Strauss Zelnick; screenwriter/filmmaker Tony Spiridakis; neurodiversity advocate Wendy Belzberg; and former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks Bill Abbott. See below for a full list of their selected finalists.

Marvels of Media Animated Short Award
Winner: Being a Dog – Felix Swahn
Honorable Mention: Love Everyone with Sylvia – D.J. Svoboda
Honorable Mention: Julia

Marvels of Media Collaborative Innovation Award
Winner: Mythlogic – Exceptional Minds with Doron Ross Tuvia, Eli Gross, Leona Tates, S. Michael Cicerelli, Kyle Payne, Brian Urquhart, Rebecca "Becca" David, Veronica Dolcich, Craig Hills

Marvels of Media Digital Art Award
Winner: (Tending)(to)(Ta) – April Lin 林森
Honorable Mention: Origin of Hair – Carrie Hawks

Marvels of Media Documentary Award
Winner: Art 21 Episode: Kameelah Janan Rasheed: The Edge of Legibility – Carrie Hawks
Honorable Mention: Father of Rodents – Bryn Chainey

Marvels of Media Experimental Film Award
Winner: Prosopagnosia – Steven Fraser
Honorable Mention:Like the Girls Who Wear Pink – Jennifer Msumba
Honorable Mention: Las-NEW – Maxwell James Scheller

Marvels of Media Mockumentary Award
Winner: Satan Cured My Autism – Jackson Mark Tucker-Meyer
Honorable Mention: The Home Office – Directed by Dani Bowman. With Keaton Bicknell, Arturo Brito, Chris Castillo

Marvels of Media Narrative Feature Award
Winner:Sanctuary Dream – Grant Carsten

Marvels of Media Narrative Short Award
Winner: Dak' Toká Taíno (I Am Taíno) (Yo Soy Taíno) – Julio Garay with Alba Garcia-Rivas
Honorable Mention: Boys Don't Wear Dresses – Aloni Schorin and Jason Weissbrod

Marvels of Media Series Award
Winner: As We See It – Sue Ann Pien, Rick Glassman and Albert Rutecki with Jason Katims

Marvels of Media Student Animated Short Award
Winner: Cloud Boy: An Autistic Journey | 2021
Honorable Mention: Ignies et Glacies – Ivette Valencia Franco

Marvels of Media Student Video Game Award
Winner: Surf Hills Story – Kieran Amon
Honorable Mention: Creature Crusade – Leilah Wright

Marvels of Media Video Game Award
Winner: An Aspie Life – Bradley Hennessey

MoMI’s Marvel of Media Awards celebrates these innovative contributions to the fields of film, media, animation, game design and more with a film festival opening on March 31 and running through April 2022.

“I believe Marvels of Media is an important venture into an amazing group of creators,” shares finalist Bradley Hennessey, creator of the game An Aspie Life. “Throughout all media, there are many on the spectrum who work day and night to develop art. The autistic spectrum covers a wide range of individuals, each unique in who they are and how they interact with the world. When this is applied to a creative endeavor, the end result is a representation of who they are. Through this, I hope visitors will gain a better understanding of what it means to be on the spectrum and their perspective on life.”

The exhibition will share the artistry of the Marvels of Media honorees, providing a perspective of media-making through the lens of autism. Seventeen works will be on view, including playable video games and short films ranging in style from experimental to narrative. The works were created by filmmakers, artists, writers, animators, and bloggers on the autism spectrum, some of them students,  from many different cultural, social, economic, and artistic backgrounds. This selection of media and objects plays with and reflects conventions, movements, and moments in contemporary moving image creation. The exhibit, organized by curators Sara Guerrero-Mostafa, Miranda Lee, and Tiffany Joy Butler, opens March 31, and will be open to the public Thursday–Sunday (see Museum Hours), for the duration of the festival. See below for a full schedule.

Marvels of Media Festival Schedule
All events take place at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave, in Astoria, New York. Events are free with suggested donation, but tickets must be requested in advance as space is limited. To request a ticket, email studio@movingimage.us For more information, visit movingimage.us/series/marvels-of-media-festival/.

Access Rider Workshop for Artists with Disabilities
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 10:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M.
Artist-filmmaker April Lin 林森 will give a workshop on creating an Access Rider for media artists with disabilities. Artists who are neurodivergent, have chronic disabilities and/or physical disabilities are all welcome. Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Marvels of Media Awards & Exhibition Opening
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 7:00–8:30 p.m. 
Second-floor gallery and Redstone Theater
Ribbon Cutting for the exhibition at 7:00 p.m., followed by awards ceremony from 8:00–8:30 p.m.
More info

Screening: ReelAbilities Shorts Recommended by Marvels of Media
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1:00 P.M.
Bartos Screening Room
Marvels of Media recommends this exciting program of six short films presented in collaboration with the ReelAbilities Film Festival: from fantastical animations to intimate documentaries, these entertaining stories show the lives of knights, artists, rock stars, and caterpillars. More info

Artist Talk & Rotoscoping Workshop
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 11:00 A.M.–1:00 P.M.
Fox Amphitheater & Digital Learning Suite
Media Artist Carrie Hawks will give an artist talk followed by a hands-on animation workshop combining digital and analog filmmaking. Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Screening: Marvels of Media Films
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 3:00 P.M.
Bartos Screening Room
In celebration of Marvels of Media Awards, MoMI presents extraordinary, thoughtful short films and excerpts from feature films, representing animation, comedy, documentary and drama created by media-makers on the autistic spectrum. Exploring real and imagined worlds, each film is unique and delves into stories of foxes, musicians, wrestlers, ancestors and gamers. More info

MoMI’s Marvels of Media Awards was developed by the Museum’s education department and leadership in partnership with Josh Sapan, a long-time member of MoMI’s Board of Trustees and the Executive Vice Chairman of AMC Networks. The program is produced in collaboration with an advisory committee of artists and spokespeople on the autism spectrum, as well as experts in the field of media including: Disability Advocate and Scholar Dena L. Gassner; Media Artist Justin Canha; Autistic Advocate, Writer, and Creative Consultant Miranda Lee; Parent Advocate Susana Montes; Occupational Therapist and Author Lindsey Biel; Writer/Comedian Maylin Pavletic; Museum Education and Community Engagement Consultant Michelle López; Visual Storyteller and Educator Paola Quintero, JD, MAAEd; and Rosa Martínez, President and Founder of Strokes of Genius, Inc., an organization that promotes artists with autism. Through the Marvels of Media Awards, MoMI further affirms a commitment to supporting the creative endeavors and pursuits of autistic media-makers of all ages and backgrounds.

Join the conversation by using #MarvelsofMediaAwards or by following the Museum on Facebook (@MovingImageMuseum), Twitter (@movingimagenyc), and Instagram (@movingimagenyc).