The GSCA 2019 Achievement Awards were presented the evening of Tuesday, September 10, at the Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, during the GSCA 2019 International Conference and Trade Show. The GSCA Achievement Awards recognize excellence in giant screen filmmaking, marketing, and lifelong learning. IMAX Corporation, sponsor of the awards gala, presented the IMAX Maximum Image Awards during the ceremony as well.
Photos © Derek Ford for GSCA, 2019.
GSCA Awards
Best Film Short Subject
Best Original Score
Best Visual Effects
Superpower Dogs
Pictured here are Daniel Ferguson, Aileen Robertson, John Wickstrom, George Duffield, Antonietta Monteleone, Jim Edward, Melissa Rogers, and Taran Davies.
Superpower Dogs is produced by Cosmic Picture. Directed by Daniel Ferguson, Produced by Taran Davies, George Duffield, Daniel Ferguson, and Dominic Cunningham-Reid. Score by Michel Cusson. Visual effects by Rodeo FX, Visceral Image Productions, and Mels. Distributed by Cosmic Picture and IMAX.
Best Film for Lifelong Learning
Best Sound Design
Apollo 11: First Steps Edition

Pictured here are Sound Designer Brian Eimer (ImagesInSound) and Producer Tom Petersen (Statement Pictures).
Apollo 11: First Steps Edition is produced by Statement Pictures and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films.
Best Cinematography
Great Bear Rainforest

Cinematography by Ian McAllister and Jeff Turner.
Pictured here are Candice Currie, Meghan MacGillivray, Chip Bartlett, Ian McAllister, Tim Archer, Patty Collins, Shaun MacGillivray, Lori Rick, and Shauna Badheka.
Great Bear Rainforest is produced by Spirit Bear Entertainment and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films.
Best Film-Feature Length
Free Solo: The IMAX Experience
Pictured here is Brett Fellman, IMAX Corporation.
Free Solo: The IMAX Experience is directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi; produced by Itinerant Films, Little Monster Films, National Geographic, and Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation.
Best Marketing Campaign by a Distributor
Cosmic Picture and IMAX for Superpower Dogs

Pictured here are Chase Martin (IMAX), Alice Casbara (IMAX), Daniel Ferguson (Cosmic Picture), Aileen Robertson (Cosmic Picture), John Wickstrom (Cosmic Picture), Gina Glen (IMAX), George Duffield (Cosmic Picture), Antonietta Monteleone (Cosmic Picture), Jim Edward, (COPILOT Productions), Melissa Rogers (Cosmic Picture), and Taran Davies (Cosmic Picture).
Best Film Launch by a Theater (tie)
Omniversum, The Netherlands, Pandas

Pictured here is Alexandra Van Der Zee (Omniversum)
Telus World of Science-Edmonton, Superpower Dogs

Pictured here are Alan Nursall, Donalda Pelton, Ursula Pattloch, and Darren Durocher (Telus World of Science-Edmonton)
Best Educational Program
Carnegie Science Center
Summer of Space Program Featuring Apollo 11: First Steps Edition

Pictured here is Chad Hunter (Carnegie Science Center).
Big Idea
SK Films, Volcanoes 3D Printer Templates
Pictured here are Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation director/producer Michael Dalton-Smith (Digital Crossing Films), and Amber Hawtin, Tory Hines, Wendy MacKeigan, and Tyler Mifflin (SK Films).
Big Shoe
Mike Lutz, Evans & Sutherland
The Big Shoe recipient is selected by GSCA staff to recognize exemplary volunteers. Pictured here is Mike Lutz with GSCA staff Tammy Barrett, Kelly Germain, and Eileen Pheiffer.
IMAX Maximum Image Awards
Best IMAX Booth (tie)
IMAX Victoria in the Royal BC Museum

Pictured here is Jason St. Louis, Chief Projectionist and Technical Advisor at IMAX Victoria
Odeon BFI IMAX
no photo available
Honorable Mentions:
- Shoppers Drug Mart OMNIMAX Theatre at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto
- CanadaCineworld Sheffield & IMAX, Sheffield,
- Fuzhou Great Town, Omnijoi & IMAX, China
Hall of Fame Award (tie)
The IMAX Hall of Fame Award goes to a giant screen film that is at least 10 years old and is selected by vote of the IMAX theater network.
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Hail Columbia!
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Africa: The Serengeti
Chief Quality Officer Award of Distinction
Todd Douglas Miller, Producer, Director, and Editor of Apollo 11: First Steps Edition
2019 Film Nominees
The following films were submitted for the documentary categories of the 2019 GSCA film awards:
- Apollo 11: First Steps Edition, Statement Pictures, MacGillivray Freeman Films
- Australia's Great Wild North, Definition Films, Wild Pacific Media, K2 Studios
- Cuba, Golden Gate 3D, Giant Screen Films, BBC Earth
- Great Barrier Reef, December Media, MacGillivray Freeman Films
- Great Bear Rainforest, Spirit Bear Entertainment, MacGillivray Freeman Films
- In Saturn's Rings, SV2 Studios, BIG & Digital
- Mountain Quest, Stranger Than Fiction Films, Definition Films, Wild Pacific Media, K2 Studios
- The Story of Earth, December Media
- Superpower Dogs, IMAX Entertainment, Cosmic Picture
- Touch the Stars, Afterglow Studios, BIG & Digital
- Turtle Odyssey, Definition Films, Wild Pacific Media, SK Films
- Volcanoes: Fires of Creation, Digital Crossing Films, SK Films
The following films were submitted for the Best Film, Feature Length category
- Avengers: Endgame: The IMAX Experience, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios
- First Man: The IMAX Experience, Universal Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures
- Free Solo: The IMAX Experience, Itinerant Films, Little Monster Films, National Geographic, Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation
2019 Best Educational Program Nominees
- Carnegie Science Center: Summer of Space
- Mishkat Interactive Center for Atomic and Renewable Energy: The Last Drop
2019 Best Film Launch by a Theater Nominees
- Challenger Learning Center, Superpower Dogs
- Clark Planetarium, Superpower Dogs
- IMAX Victoria, Great Bear Rainforest
- Omniversum, Pandas
- Telus World of Science-Edmonton, Superpower Dogs
2019 Best Marketing Campaign by a Distributor Nominees
- Cosmic Picture and IMAX, Superpower Dogs
- MacGillivray Freeman Films, Great Bear Rainforest
- SK Films, Turtle Odyssey
- SK Films, Volcanoes
2019 Best Theater Marketing Campaign Nominees
- Telus World of Science-Edmonton, Dome Theater Branding Campaign