The 12th annual Location Managers Guild International Awards handed out top honors Saturday night at the Eli & Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, celebrating the art of cinematic geography with a slate of winners that included Emmy hopefuls The Studio, 1923 and The Penguin.
The awards, which spotlight the creative use of filming locations across features, television and commercials, went global this year, honoring work that spanned continents and genres.
Feature Winners
Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown, shot extensively in New Jersey, took the prize for Outstanding Locations in a Period Feature Film, while Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning claimed Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Feature Film for its globe-spanning production that touched down in England, Norway, South Africa and Malta.
The New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission was also recognized with the Outstanding Film Commission Award for its work on A Complete Unknown.
Television Winners
On the TV side, Paramount+’s 1923 earned the award for Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series for its Montana and Texas settings. Apple TV+’s The Studio, filmed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, won Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series, while HBO Max’s The Penguin prevailed in the limited/anthology category for its Gotham-set shoot across Harlem, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Chinatown and Yonkers.
Other Honors
The Outstanding Commercial category went to Orient Express: Artisan of Travel, lensed in Belmond.
Beyond the competitive awards, Kevin Costner received the Eva Monley Award, honoring his decades of work in location-rich storytelling, from Dances With Wolves and Field of Dreams to Yellowstone and his latest epic, Horizon: An American Saga.
Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles was honored with the LMGI Humanitarian Award for its work fulfilling wishes for children and families, while veteran location manager Ilt Jones (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by producer Ian Bryce.
The ceremony, hosted by actress and producer Rachael Harris, also featured presenters including Keyla Monterroso Mejia (The Studio), Carmen Christopher (The Bear), Maxwell Acee Donovan (That ’90s Show), Kate Linder (The Young and the Restless), and Claire Brooks (AFCI).
Complete Winners List – 12th Annual LMGI Awards
Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series
1923 – Season 2 (Paramount+)
David Zachary Heine / LMGI, James Crowley, Hayden Yancer / LMGI
Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series
The Studio (Apple TV+)
Stacey Brashear / LMGI, Martin J. Cummins / LMGI
Outstanding Locations in a TV Serial Program, Anthology, MOW or Limited Series
The Penguin (HBO Max)
Keith Adams / LMGI
Outstanding Locations in a Period Feature Film
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
Anthony Pisani / LMGI
Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Feature Film
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Ben Firminger / LMGI, Jonas Christiansen, Morten Nelson, Niall O’Shea, Jason Roberts, Peter Bardsley, Jasmine Burridge / LMGI, Clara Butler, Sam Millner
Outstanding Film Commission
New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission
for A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
