Flying Robot Film Festival Announces Winners

Flying drone cameras have risen from a little-known hobby to a major force in the world of visual art and nowhere is that more evident than the 2016 Flying Robot international Film Festival.

Billed as “an open competitive drone film festival focused on aerial cinema created from the perspective of flying camera robots (drones),” the festival chose 25 drone films out of 180 submissions. The winners – which span eight categories – will screen at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater on Nov. 17.

Now in its second years, the drone film fest was first of its kind for the West Coast; however, the pioneer for such an event nationwide goes to the New York City Drone Film Festival.

Attracting submissions from filmmakers across 40 countries, the festival offers up $10,000 in cash and prizes, including a DJI Inspire 1 and Osmo.

Winners include:

Cinematic Narrative
Darkhad Valley, Jeff Colhoun [USA]
Drona, Chafic Saad [USA]
The Drone, Jordan Rubin [USA]

Epic Landscape
An Aerial Perspective of Nordland, Michael Fletcher & Alan Mathieson [Australia]
Drone Poem: Always Take The Window Seat, Alexander Hotz [USA]
Into The West, Mike Bishop [Canada]
Midnight Sun, Christian Linares [USA]
Vietnam from Above, Max Seigal [USA]

Drones For Good
Help Us Give Elephants and Rhinos Wings, Michael Parfit [USA]
Zipline in Rwanda, Jimmy Collins [USA]

FPV/Aerial Sports
ascent, Jonas Kunze [Germany]
The First Racing Drone In Chernobyl, Steele Davis [USA]

WTF LOL
Byzantine, Joris Favraud [France]
Drone Blender, Billy May & Damien Gallagher [United Kingdom]
Marinière, Athanasia Lykoudi [Greece]
Moon Line, Frédéric Rousseau [France]

I Made That!
Mario Copter, Michael Niedermayr [Austria]
Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme, Kurtis Sensenig [USA]

Student Film
Spectacular Norway, Simen Haughom [Norway]
The Making of Expedition Alaska, Brian Leitten [USA]
This is Chapman, Kevin Wolf [USA]

Promotional
Digitized 2016 – Opening Titles, Athanasia Lykoudi [Greece]
Drone100, Sergio Abuja [USA]
San Francisco Drone Rescue, Chris Lindland, Robbie Wiedie & Tyler MacNiven [USA]
This is Tilt, Daniell Ashby [Norway]

In addition to the drone-film screening, FRiFF will present Flying Robot Aerial Imagery Day on Nov. 19 — an inaugural event that will feature workshops and demos about drone photography and videography.

“Whether you’re brand new to aerial photography or you’re a master flying pixel tamer, there’s something here for everyone,” a FRiFF spokesperson said.

Topics covered include:

• Aerial Photography Basics
• Aerial Cinematography Tips & Tricks
• Photogrammetry & 3D Mapping
• 360 & Panoramic Aerial Photography
• Color Grading
• FPV (First Person View) Systems
• Live Streaming
• Drone Building
• FAA Part 107 Certification