Museum of the Moving Image Unveils Winners of Second Marvels of Media Awards, Honoring Autistic Creators (Exclusive)

Museum of the Moving Image on Friday unveiled the winners of its second annual Marvels of Media Awards, which recognizes the achievements of content creators on the autism spectrum.

Winners include Jorge R. Gutiérrez for 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;” and Steven Fraser for his animated short Coming Out Autistic.

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The winners were selected by a panel of judges including Cheryl Henson, president of the Jim Henson Foundation; author Louis Chesney; Carl Goodman, president and CEO of The Florida Holocaust Museum; actor Sue Ann Pien; and MoMI director of education Leonardo Santana-Zubieta.

The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception at the museum on March 30, which will kick off the annual Marvels of Media festival and exhibition running through April 30.

“The second edition of Marvels of Media furthers our commitment to enhancing the visibility of neurodiverse media creators in the audiovisual galaxy,” Santana-Zubieta said. “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.”

Added museum trustee Josh Sapan: “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.'”

The exhibition and events will take place at the New York-based museum. As part of the festival programming, the museum will present screenings, a virtual directors’ roundtable and a puppetry workshop. See below for a full festival schedule. The event was organized by arts administrator Miranda Lee and MoMI assistant curator of public programs Tiffany Joy Butler, in partnership with a steering committee of artists, spokespeople on the autism spectrum, and experts in the field who help to guide and produce this program. For a full schedule, visit movingimage.us/series/marvels-of-media-2023/.

Meanwhile, the Marvels of Media Awards will recognize 21 media works in 13 categories out of a total 200 submissions.

Said Hamish Steele, 2023 Marvels of Media Awardee: “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.”

A full list of winners follows.

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: Grief is a Spectrum Too – 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

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