12th Annual LMGI Awards Photo Gallery

In challenging times, people have always turned to storytelling to escape, to reflect, to imagine something better. It is the location professional’s intuitive ability to envision a location’s narrative potential and picture how it might appear on screen that magically transports us visually and viscerally to places both real and imagined.

We look at the world as it exists and see what might be. We walk through spaces and survey landscapes with the writer’s intention, the director’s vision, the cinematographer’s lens, and the art department’s palette in mind, guiding us to exactly where each story needs to come alive.

Whether it’s a sweeping desert that becomes an alien landscape, a hidden city alley that echoes with untold secrets, or a familiar place that plays for another corner of the world entirely, our contributions help breathe life into the cinematic experience.

Tonight, we celebrate the global community of location professionals whose imagination and skill help transform the sometimes seemingly impossible scenarios written on the page of a script into tangible and believable realities. Each nominated project represents countless hours of exploration, negotiation, and creative vision. To all of this year’s nominees—thank you for your artistry, your dedication, and your unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

We also honor those whose contributions have shaped our craft—and our world. Director, producer, writer and actor Kevin Costner will receive the Eva Monley Award for his passion and commitment to telling stories on location and his understanding of how a sense of place deepens the narrative and propels the action.

Veteran supervising location manager Ilt Jones will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a remarkable career that spans three decades of mentorship and a seamless integration of real-life locations with the fantastical world of superheroes and epic action.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the recipient of this year’s Humanitarian Award for fulfilling the life-changing wishes of seriously ill children, providing them with strength, joy and hope throughout their treatments. We are particularly moved by the Foundation’s mission, knowing that many wishes center on the very experiences we help create—meeting beloved performers, visiting film sets, and accessing the wonder that our industry brings to the world.

Thank you to the generous sponsors and the many LMGI Committee members whose efforts made this year’s awards gala a reality. Please savor every moment of the ceremony on Santa Monica’s Eli and Edythe Broad Stage. Then, join in for the after-party festivities on the patio, where we will all raise a glass to the storytellers, the visionaries and the incredible places where story lives!