The Nikola Tesla Award is an honorary Satellite Award bestowed by the International Press Academy to recognize the "pioneers of filmmaking technology industry". It was first presented on January 12, 2003, at the 7th Annual Golden Satellite Awards ceremony to George Lucas. Simon Hayes is the latest recipient as of 2024.
The trophy awarded to the honorees is a bust of inventor Nikola Tesla cast in bronze, on a marble base, inscribed for the recipient. It was designed by Sarajevan sculptor Dragan Radenović.
Honorees Year Recipient Reason2002 George Lucas For a lifetime of visionary filmmaking achievement and his privately held company, Lucasfilm, continues to expand frontiers in the cinematic arts2003 James Cameron For his stand-out effects and 3D lens innovations2004 Jerry Lewis For introducing video-assist and video playback techniques, which have become industry standards2005 Stan Winston For his special effects contributions to cinema2006 Richard Donner For creating special effects on the 1978 film Superman that pre-dated contemporary computer-generated images2007 Dennis Muren For his visual effects in films, especially with computer digital rendering and compositing2008 Rick Baker For his innovative make-up, prosthetics, and creature effects in films2009 Roger Deakins For his creative cinematography in films2010 Robert A. Harris For his work as film preservationist and historian2011 Douglas Trumbull For his film inventions and entrepreneurial work2012 Walter Murch For award-winning sound design and editing in films2013 Garrett Brown For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2014 Industrial Light & Magic For setting the standard for visual effects and creating some of the most stunning images in the history of film.2015 Robert Rutherford and Jonathan Miller (Hive Lighting) For their energy efficient, full-spectrum, flicker-free plasma lighting systems.2016 John Toll For setting a new bar in the future of digital filmmaking.2017 Robert Legato For his deft atmospheric command of visual effects.2018 Kevin Baillie For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2019 Joe Letteri For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2020 Dick Pope For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2021 Joan Collins Carey For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2022 Ryan Tudhope For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2023 Neil Corbould For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology2024 Simon Hayes For visionary achievement in filmmaking technology
References
External links International Press Academy website