The Advanced Imaging Society has announced the winners of the 2026 Lumiere Awards, recognizing outstanding creative and technical achievements during its 16th annual celebration. The awards honor the artists, engineers, and innovators whose work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and cinematic technology. 

Often described as the ‘Oscars for geeks,’ the Lumiere Awards celebrate the growing role of technological innovation in expanding the possibilities of storytelling for audiences worldwide. “These Lumiere winners produced their brilliant stories by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible creatively and technically,” said Jim Chabin, President of the Advanced Imaging Society. “In these honorees we see our industry’s future – and that future is truly more exciting than ever.”

The list of winners includes:
 
Best Feature Film – Live Action: Sinners
Best Feature Film – Animation: Zootopia 2
Best Documentary: The King of Color
Best Motion Picture – Musical: Wicked: For Good
Best Audio – Theatrical: Sinners
Best Audio – Episodic: Severance
Best Original Song: “Golden,” from KPop Demon Hunters
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Feature Film: F1
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Episodic: Stranger Things Season 5
Best Musical Scene or Sequence:  KPop Demon Hunters – “Golden”
Best Theatrical Scene or Sequence: Avatar: Fire and Ash – “Flux Devil”
Best Episodic – Animation: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Best Episodic – Live Action: Andor Season 2
Best International 3D Documentary: NHK for The Mark of Beauty Tokyo Imperial Palace
Best Use of VR: Dolphins of the Reef, Immotion
Production Technology Awards: AMD, DisneyResearch|Studios Flawless, 6P Color, CoreWeave
Governor’s Award for Cinema Excellence: VUE
Sir Charles Wheatstone Award: Google
Judy Garland Legacy Award: Jon M. Chu, Wicked: For Good
Harold Lloyd Award: Joseph Kosinski & Jerry Bruckheimer, F1

Google was presented with the Society’s annual Sir Charles Wheatstone Award for its stream of creative innovations that have built the digital infrastructure powering media, including its VEO and Imagen models, Google Cloud and YouTube production tools. The award was accepted by Anil Jain, Global Managing Director of Strategic Industries.
 
As storytellers and technology leaders increasingly meld their talents and technologies, the Society recognized 5 organizations for their “impact and innovation” in driving the media and entertainment ecosystem forward this year.  Production Technology Lumiere Awards were presented to: AMD received a Lumiere for their EPYC CPU’s and Threadripper PRO workstation tools; Conductor, by CoreWeave, was recognized with a Lumiere for their desktop tools for cloud optimization; Flawless, the first AI company to be recognized with a Lumiere Award for pioneering Assistive AI that preserves and supports human creativity; 6P Color was recognized for their “Full Color Range” format for electronic color imagery; and DisneyResearch|Studios was honored with a Lumiere for its Artistically Controllable ML Stereo Conversion toolset. 
 
In addition, VUE and CEO Tim Richards were honored with the Society’s Governor’s Award for Cinema Excellence for their new generation of premium EPIC screen cinemas, featuring state of the art laser projection and sound. 
 
Three Special Honors were handed out, providing the highlights of the day:
 
Ethan Hawke was honored with the 2026 Distinguished Artist Award for his Oscar-nominated performance as Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon. The accolade was presented to him by producer and former President of Lucas Films Kathleen Kennedy, who has worked with Ethan on films since the beginning of his career.

 Director Jon M. Chu was awarded the inaugural Judy Garland Legacy Award. Created to commemorate Judy Garland’s unparalleled legacy, the award honors artists who continue to carry her spirit forward through bold, resonant, and imaginative filmmaking. 

And finally, the esteemed Harold Lloyd Award was presented to Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, whose hit film F1 received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Kosinski and Bruckheimer have forged a creative partnership that pushes the boundaries of cinematic realism, emotional storytelling, and technological innovation in multiple films that have defined the theatrical experience for a new generation.

_{WHAT DO YOU THINK?  LIKE THIS STORY? TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL US.}