This year, the Musicbed Challenge had a different end goal than in years past. Creatives had an unprecedented chance to re-shape culture during a critical moment in history. So we asked them to use their talents for the greater good. To find a story within their communities, and to make a film that could make a difference.
Now, 30 days later, we’re ready to announce the 2020 Musicbed Reopen Challenge Winners. Our panel of industry-leading judges have viewed and selected the entries that they believe can best spread optimism—with the winning filmmakers taking home their share of $100,000 in cash.
Our team was deeply moved by the outpouring of film submissions from countries around the globe, so we want to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Musicbed Challenge.
As our CEO, Daniel McCarthy said about this year’s Musicbed Reopen Challenge, “Even if your film isn’t chosen as a winning submission, you still created something that could legitimately change someone’s life.”
Though we always have been, today, we are especially proud to support and work with the filmmaking community.
Our panel of judges scored submissions based on the following criteria: Craft, Storytelling, and Creativity. Their scores from each category were compiled to determine the winners.
Okay, now let’s get to what you’ve been waiting for…
The 2020 Musicbed Challenge Winners
$25,000 Prize Winner | Black.Matters
“Incredible. A really beautiful and poetic statement narratively as well as visually.” — Sarah Schutzki
$15,000 Prize Winner | Descent
“Really powerful story and performance by the lead. Super unique, creative, and moving way to tackle the topic of mental health.” —Luciana Almeida
$10,000 Prize Winner | Meet Me At the Stairs
“There was art in the framing of each shot and a minimalism that I enjoyed and pulled my focus into the story.” — Diego Contreras
People’s Choice
We’d also like to give a huge shoutout to our People’s Choice Winners. The filmmakers behind these winning submissions spanned the entire globe; from rural areas of Africa, East Asia, to South America, and more. And viewers from every country in the world voted on films that had the most impact on them. In this competition, everyone made a difference.
Africa (7 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| Stay Together | Jay Engman | Ghana |
| Baba Yao | Seppe Verbist | Kenya |
| Dark Stars | Dadzie George-Isaac | Nigeria |
| Community | Sachin Narain | South Africa |
| Living Proof | Mawande Kheswa | South Africa |
| RISE | Josh Rowe | South Africa |
| Spacegirl | Drew Murphy | South Africa |
Asia (6 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| Shadow Harbour – 暗影港 | Domingo Lamarre | Hong Kong |
| 安謐地 Tranquilland | 姚樂軒 Yiu Lok Hin | Hong Kong |
| Re-invent the Future | Riddhiman Ghosh | India |
| UDAY | Haresh Pania | India |
| Warrior | Udit Tiwari | India |
| “Kailan Ulit?” | Paulo Nebreja | Philippines |
Australia (4 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| A Very Very Creative Lunch | Jacob Steenson | Australia |
| RE: RHYTHM | Cedric Tang | Australia |
| WARRIOR | Mel Branson | Australia |
| Why the World is Precious | Jordan Jai | Australia |
Europe (11 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| Portrait of Europe | Shayan Shukla | Czechia |
| SAMIRA | Dan Braga Ulvestad | Germany |
| First Time Holding My Son, Theo | Ciaran Wilson | Ireland |
| Thanatophobia | Bogdan Rybka | Poland |
| Kings & Queens | João Santos | Portugal |
| Stay Home | Koshka Neon | Russia |
| Time | Max Larruy | Spain |
| Le Périple d’Abélla | Enis Manaz | Turkey |
| Unexpected Virtues of Pandemi | Kutay Berk | Turkey |
| Lessons Learnt | Millon | United Kingdom |
| The Felling of Colston | Arthur Cauty | United Kingdom |
North America (18 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| Grow Together | Matt Moreland | Canada |
| UNREINED | Erin Parks | Canada |
| Desde Adentro (From the Inside) | Alberto Rey | Mexico |
| FRECUENCIA | Alejandro Partida | Mexico |
| THE LIGHT HUNTER | Héctor Tapia Aguilar | Mexico |
| #TUHSDStronger | Warren Cole | United States |
| Allyship is not the goal. | Destyn Patera | United States |
| Art is My Superpower | Alicia Napolitano | United States |
| Luxury to Necessity | Micah Hamilton | United States |
| Maxima | Jandro Guerrero Davalos | United States |
| Never Odd Or Even | Elliot Peters | United States |
| Nobody’s Perfect | Robbie Hou | United States |
| Remember | Corey Hour | United States |
| Sage | Sean Mann | United States |
| SMILE WITH YOUR EYES | Barblin Mayhew | United States |
| The Heartbeat of Kansas City | Adrian Herrera | United States |
| This is 2020 | Toby Canning | United States |
| We Rise Together | Raelyn Munneke | United States |
South America (4 Winners)
| Submission | Filmmaker | Country |
| 2020 – QUANDO TUDO MUDOU | Ugo Sartori | Brazil |
| When It All Goes Back to Normal | Three Voices | Brazil |
| La ortra cura (The other cure) | Jorge Díaz Soler | Chile |
| EXTRAORDINARIO | Gina Ciccone | Paraguay |
Thank you again to everyone who participated. There were so many incredible films and we’re grateful to have been able to be a part of making them come to life.
If you’d like to stay tuned for updates regarding next year’s Musicbed Challenge, make sure to sign up for updates here.
