There’s no doubt that 2020 earned a space on the list of Very Dark Years. But thankfully, during the pandemic, mobile moviemakers from around the world created works that brought us hope and joy.

Each week, we featured a movie that we felt deserved the spotlight. There were examples of every genre. And—because of COVID—there were amazing innovations, for example, films in which the directors and actors were in widely separated locations.

In December, the editors of MobileMovieMaking  chose 15 finalists, from which we’d choose the Mobile Movie of the Year. We recommend them whether you’re looking for laughter, thrills, suspense, romance, or the reality of our time.

Choosing the best of this group is a quixotic task. How can one compare a madcap comedy with a high-energy music video, or a sci-fi creature flick  with a heartbreaking drama of an Alzheimer’s victim? All the movies we showcased are terrific. Each one touched us, and all of them have advanced the art and technology of mobile moviemaking.

We could have made an argument for choosing any one of the fifteen. But in the end, we selected Cassius Rayner’s “London Falls Silent” as the film that we’ll remember most when we think back to mobile moviemaking in 2020.

About the Director

A prize-winning filmmaker, London-based Cassius Rayner runs mobile filmmaking workshops and a professional video production service.  Five years ago Rayner stopped using main stream camera systems and now films with iPhones. Doing so, he says, gives him  “so much creative freedom to explore different ways to shoot.” He teaches smartphone filmmaking at ScreenSpace (Met Film School) and London Film Academy, and is a guest lecturer at the British Film Institute.

Upon learning that his film was chosen as the Mobile Movie of the Year, Rayner said that he felt  “very honoured especially amongst many other great films that were selected.” He added that “a big part of what I shoot couldn’t be captured at the level I want and expect without the FilmicPro app. Respect to all the other filmmaker finalists.”

You can find more information about Cassius Rayner at GoFilmIt.TV, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The People’s Choice Award will be announced February 1. You can still cast your vote here.