"It was an amazing experience to win prizes in such esteemed company," says Ormen Lange information manager, Vegar Stokset, after the US International Film and Video Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Hydro's film, "The Traveller," about the Ormen Lange development project and featuring Ian Wright of Lonely Planet fame, won top honors at the West Hollywood event. The US International Film And Video Festival was established in 1968 and is a leading awards venue for documentary and company films.
Several films with strong social messages were entered into the competition this year, including Grand Prix winner, "Lost Children," about child soldiers in Uganda, and "Tracking the Monster: Confronting AIDS in Africa," with Ashley Judd.
A total of 1,250 films from 24 countries participated in this year's festival.
"Seeing so many high-quality productions from so many countries makes it an even greater honor to be a prize winner," says Stokset, who took part in the event along with representatives from DDB advertising agency and Trøbbel (Trouble) Film company.
"The Traveller" won the "Gold Camera Award" in the "Corporate Communications" category, as well as a "Silver Screen Award" in the "Speciality Productions" category. The nine-minute long film was also awarded a "Certificate of Creative Excellence" in the "Public Relations" category.
In the film, Wright takes viewers on a fascinating journey featuring various facets of Norwegian innovation, including subsea robots and the world's longest undersea pipeline.
"The Traveller" was submitted to the competition by DDB and Trøbbel Film, which are behind the film's production.
"We have had remarkable cooperation with DDB and Trøbbel Film," says Stokset. "The prizes confirm the outstanding positive response we've received wherever the film has been shown."