2012 DOCUMENTARY AWARD WINNERS

Invisible Circus: No Dress Rehearsal has won the first annual Dynamite Dynamo Doc Awards! Director Naomi Smyth will receive $500 USD, an associate membership in the International Documentary Association which includes a subscription to Documentary magazine, as well as a professional membership in the Shooting People filmmakers organization. To be sure she always remembers this moment of greatness, Naomi will also receive an engraved trophy and a very sharp Dynamo baseball hat.
Invisible Circus tells the uplifting underdog story of The Invisible Circus, a group of guerilla performance artists in Bristol who push the limits of legality as they transform abandoned buildings into inspired performance spaces for highly theatrical circus acts. Beyond telling the simple story of the players and their process, Invisible Circus conveys the magic that emerges when wild hearts, honed talents and superior stagecraft illuminate the dark voids created by orphaned buildings.
Invisible Circus will inspire the artist and surprise the skeptical pragmatist. It is truly a must-see: http://www.invisiblecircusfilm.com/
The 2nd Place award goes to Race to World First, a documentary by John Keating and Zachary Henderson, who win IDA and Shooting People memberships.
Race to World First follows the fierce global competition among dozens of online gamers as they reach for the title of World First in the immersive World of Warcraft role-playing game. More than a film for online gamers, Race to World First tells a story of comradery and competition in a world apart. Largely seen as bands of misfits by others, the teams in this film are all aware of their own social status as both outsiders and champions. Through personal interviews and team meetings, the documentary shares the personal highs and lows behind actual game play. The personal greatness and faults uncovered during the film ultimately lead to the highly public success or failure on a grand virtual stage before their peers.
Race to World First will be appreciated by anyone who has ever gone to battle — real or virtual — with a team of passionate allies, and by anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in a world of cool kids. Watch it now: http://www.racetoworldfirst.com/
The 3rd Place award goes to Grass Roots: The Prairie Farm Story, a heartland story that offers a way back to sustainable agriculture. Filmmaker Carter Johnson will receive a professional membership to Shooting People and Dynamo hats for the crew. Focused on a small group of farmers who seek to restore prairie farming with common sense solutions, Grass Roots is a unique look at the rich potential and unusual challenges that come with going against the grain in the face of industrial farming.
By telling this story without a political or environmental agenda, Johnson succeeds with a film that informs and appeals directly to every American who cares about the future of food and farms. See it now here: http://www.thegrassrootsfilm.com/
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Dynamo Media sponsors the Dynamite Dynamo Doc Awards to encourage excellence in documentary filmmaking and introduce film lovers to high quality films available online. Winners of the 2012 Dynamite Dynamo Doc Awards are all excellent examples of films currently delivered online with the Dynamo Player service.>
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