Independent filmmaker Jeff Synthesized won the grand prize at the Future Vision XPRIZE for his film The Gifted last week in Los Angeles, Google reported. The solo-developed production secured $100,000 in prize funding alongside $2.5 million earmarked for feature production. Google, XPRIZE, and Range Media Partners established the global competition earlier this year to find films that depict a hopeful, technology-driven future.
Judges selected Synthesized's entry from more than 2,500 submissions sent in from across the world. The contest specifically sought out cinematic visions that present positive outcomes for technological advancement. With the selection finalized, the $2.5 million allocation will back the effort to develop the solo-created project into a larger theatrical work.
The film draws on a personal story and follows an 11-year-old boy who uses code to recreate the voice and essence of his deceased mother. According to Google, the system he builds expands across his town's communications networks, where it quietly provides care to the local community. Synthesized designed the storyline around his conviction that empathy and human connection represent the greatest promise of modern technology.
Range Media Partners and Google will now work to bring the story to movie theaters. The backing comes directly through Google's 100 ZEROS initiative, which is partnering with Range Media Partners to adapt the winning material into a full feature film for the big screen.
