The Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences has announced the nominations for the 2003 Machinima Awards, which showcases the best in films created in a realtime virtual 3D environment, known as 3D game engines. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on October 25, 2003 at the American Museum of the Moving Image in New York as part of the Machinima Film Festival.

The non-profit organization advocates and promotes Machinima as a new artform with the awards and festival as an event to assist in this mission. The full-day festival, sponsored by NVIDIA, AMD and the American Museum of the Moving Image, will showcase Machinima technology, presentations and screenings. Admission to the event is free. More information can be found on both the Academy's site (www.machinima.org) and the Museum's Website (www.movingimage.us)

Below is a complete list of the nominees:

Best Picture
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
AVATARA - Donato Mancini, Canada
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
BOUNCER PLEASE - Stardate: Nighttime, U.K.
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Direction
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
HERO - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA
LOVEDEATH - David Kaplan & Dan Torop, USA
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Virtual Performance
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
COMMON SENSE COOKING - The ILL Clan, USA
HERO - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Visual Design
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
THE BATTLE OF XERXES - Artemis Software, USA
SAFETY KIDS - XLT & Chanticleer Films, USA
THE TOURNAMENT - Friedrich Kirschner, Germany
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Sound
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
THE BATTLE OF XERXES - Artemis Software, USA
DRAGONS - Stardate: Nighttime, UK
HERO - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Writing
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
THE BATTLE OF XERXES - Artemis Software, USA
DRAGONS - Stardate: Nighttime, U.K.
GODS AND FATHERS - Ike Sainoi, Germany
PORTAL - G4 TV, USA

Best Editing
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
HERO - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA
LOVEDEATH - David Kaplan & Dan Torop, USA
THE OUTCOME - Joe Falcione, USA
OWNED - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA

Best Technical Achievement
ANNA - Fountainhead Ent., USA
COMMON SENSE COOKING - The ILL Clan, USA
LUCKY MAN - James Hamer-Morton, U.K.
OZYMANDIAS - Strange Co., Scotland
THE TOURNAMENT - Friedrich Kirschner, Germany

Best Commercial/Game Machinima
HALO 2 - Microsoft/Bungie, USA
PORTAL - G4 TV, USA
SAFETY KIDS - XLT & Chanticleer Films, USA
TRON 2 - Buena Vista Games & Monolith Prods., USA
IN THE WAITING LINE - Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Ent., USA

Best Independent Film
BLOOD GULCH CHRONICLES - Red Vs. Blue, USA
BOUNCER PLEASE - Stardate: Nighttime, U.K.
DIE WALTONS - Rodrigo Olmos & Axel Schmidt, Germany
HERO - Magnus Walterstad & David Munroe, Germany/USA
OZYMANDIAS - Strange Co., Scotland