2010 Prémio ZON Winners announced in Lisbon

1 Feb 2011

Winners of the ZON Prize for Creativity in Multimedia prepare to spend time in Austin.

The worlds of filmmaking, multimedia design, and game development came together when the winners of the third edition of the ZON Creativity in Multimedia Award were announced January 31 in Lisbon. Porto-based Seed Studio was the big winner for its game Under Siege, which it developed for the Playstation 3 platform. With a total value of 200.000 euros, the ZON Prize is the largest purse awarded in Portugal for a multidisciplinary contest. The winners of each category are also awarded a Foundation for Science and Technology scholarship to study at the University of Texas at Austin.

The award ceremony was held in January at the Oriente Museum in Lisbon and was attended by Paulo Campos, Secretary of State for Public Works and Communications and Manuel Heitor, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, as well by dozens of hopeful competitors.

The Winners

Under Siege is the first Portuguese videogame in the PlayStation market and the first real-time strategy game developed for the platform worldwide. It was the first-prize winner in the category of Multimedia Content and Applications and the winner of the ZON Grand Prize, worth 80.000 euros.

In this category, the second place went to Beam Browser, the first multi-touch device designed for use by Portuguese television viewers. “Beam Browser” received a prize of 12.500 euros. Finally, third place went to the game Billabong Surf Trip, which received 7.500 euros. This game was born from a partnership with the Australian label Billabong, and it is being sold in 90 Apple Stores around the world.

In the Digital Animation category, Daydream Chronicles won first prize. It is an entertainment series for children produced by the Portuguese company Gameinvest, which received 30.000 euros. Second and third places distinguished the works “Foxy & Meg” and “Dream Factory”, who earned, respectively, 12.500 euros and 7.500 euros.

In the Short Film awards, rookie Pedro Resende took the first place prize of 30.000 euros with the short film “Maybe...” Resende shot the picture in Austin and based it on a true story. “Quando os Monstros se vão embora” by Bernardo Gramaxo from Lusófona University and “Tejo” by two young amateurs received, respectively, the second (12.500 euros) and third (7.500 euros) places.

For much more about the winning entries and interviews with the winners, see the February issue of the CoLab Square newsletter.

Some of the finalists will also be submitted to the government “Institute of Support to Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation” (IAPMEI) for evaluation and possible funding.

The Jury

The jury of the ZON Prize includes representatives of the ZON company and noted experts in the fields of creativity and innovation. The CEO of ZON, Rodrigo Costa, chairs the jury, and its other members are below.

Multimedia Content and Applications Category: José Alberto Carvalho (RTP, Portuguese Public National Television), Artur Pimenta Alves (University of Porto/ CoLab), Lourenço Medeiros (SIC, Portuguese Private National Television) João Sentieiro (Foundation for Science and Technology) and Manuel Sequeira (ZON).

Digital Animation Category: Isabel Mimoso (Dreamia), Nelson Zagalo (University of Minho), Fernando Galrito (Monstra Festival) and Nuno Cintra Torres (ZON).

Short Films Category: Leonor Silveira (ICA, The Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual), Mário Augusto (RTP), Nuno Sena (Indie Lisboa Festival), and Antunes João (ZON Lusomundo).

The ZON Award

Launched in April of 2008, the Prémio ZON Criatividade in Multimédia received nearly 200 applications for the 2010 round of prizes. Its aim is to promote innovation and reward excellence in multimedia production. The goal of the competition is to catalyze the development of multimedia and audiovisual industries in Portugal. ZON also aims to distinguish works that reflect the values of the company, namely agility, innovation, expertise, proximity, and diversity.

In 2009, the Lusófona University was the big winner with six slots in the list of finalists and reached the Grand Prize with the short film “Romeo and Juliet - The Musical”. All finalists in the short films category can be viewed on ZON VideoClub which is available for most of the 1,573 million company’s clients.

The previous editions of the ZON Award provided a powerful stimulus for the production of high-quality multimedia content which made a unique contribution in the discovery and dissemination of new talents.