Washington, D.C. -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced winners of the AIA Film Challenge 2019.

“It’s an honor to celebrate this year’s winning films, which spotlight architectural projects that are transforming communities through the power of design and collaboration,” said Robert Ivy, FAIA, AIA executive vice president and CEO. “When civic leaders and architects work together, they can have an unbelievably positive impact on communities, clearly shown in each of the films that were submitted to this year’s competition.”

Judges selected the film "The EastPoint Project" as this year’s Grand Prize winner. As a result of redlining and segregation, the east side of Oklahoma City has seen a lack of investment. EastPoint aims to be a catalyst, to encourage public and private developers to invest in the east side, and to inspire the community to envision what the neighborhood could become by rebuilding, rehabilitating, and revitalizing empty lots. The film will receive a $5,000 prize and a trip to Chicago for a screening and celebration during Chicago Ideas Week, among other prizes.

The runner up is "A Place of Second Chances," which presents the hopeful stories of two individuals who prove that the tide of recidivism can be reversed when prisons are designed to comfort and rehabilitate. "A Building Shaped by Light: Austin Central Library" was named third place winner. The film highlights Austin’s new Central Library, which serves as a community gathering space in the heart of the community, and as the new western portal to downtown.

The People’s Choice award — "Learning Organisms, Floral Collectives" — tells how new technologies, such as 3D printing and AI robotics, can play a role in the future of the built environment. Like the Grand Prize film, the People’s Choice winner will receive a $5,000 prize and will debut at Chicago Ideas Week.

Grand prize, runner up and third place recipients were selected by a panel of judges, while the People’s Choice Award was selected through votes cast online by the public. Judges for the 2019 AIA Film Challenge were architect Karen Braitmayer, FAIA; architectural filmmaker Ian Harris; Hollywood director Joseph Kosinski; ARCHITECT magazine editor Wanda Lau; and architect Jimmie Tucker, FAIA.

“I am honored to have served as a judge for the AIA Film Challenge,” said Joseph Kosinski. “As a trained architect, it’s wonderful that AIA is using film to show the impact of architecture in a community.”

The AIA Film Challenge, which celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2019, is an annual crowdsourced creative competition sponsored by AIA. The challenge brings architects and filmmakers together to tell stories about architects and leaders collaborating to build a blueprint for better communities.

For more information, visit aiafilmchallenge.org.