Location Managers Guild Awards

Overview

The Location Managers Guild International Awards are the only peer-judged awards dedicated exclusively to location management in film, television, and commercials. The LMGI is a global guild representing location professionals across the US, UK, Canada, Europe, and beyond. The 12th annual ceremony took place on August 23, 2025, at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California. The 13th annual ceremony is scheduled for August 22, 2026, at the same venue.

The awards recognize location professionals based on creative contribution, logistical complexity, and how effectively the locations serve the storytelling. Productions must have at least 60% of filming completed on location (not on a soundstage) to be eligible. The LMGI membership votes on nominees and winners across competitive categories, with additional honorary awards determined by the guild's awards committee.

Eligibility and Submission Rules

For the 13th annual awards (2026), the eligibility window covers productions first released between June 2, 2025, and June 1, 2026. At least 60% of the production must have been shot on location. The submission timeline for the 13th annual awards:

• Entry submission period opens: February 28, 2026
• Entry submission period closes: April 28, 2026 (11:59 PM PDT)
• Nomination voting opens: June 1, 2026
• Nomination voting closes: June 11, 2026
• Nominations announced: June 23, 2026
• Final round voting opens: July 13, 2026
• Final round voting closes: July 21, 2026 (11:59 PM PDT)
• Awards ceremony: August 22, 2026

Submissions are open to both domestic and international productions. The LMGI accepts entries for works that demonstrate the creative contributions of locations to filmed projects. For submission details, visit the LMGI Awards information page.

Key Categories

Competitive Categories

• Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Feature Film
• Outstanding Locations in a Period Feature Film
• Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series
• Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series
• Outstanding Locations in a TV Anthology, Movie, or Limited Series
• Outstanding Locations in a Commercial
• Outstanding Film Commission - recognizing film commissions that supported location work on specific productions

Honorary Awards

• Lifetime Achievement Award - 2026 recipient: Mike Fantasia (location manager on nearly 40 features including TOPGUN: Maverick, Killers of the Flower Moon, Spider-Man: Homecoming)
• Humanitarian Award - 2026 recipient: Environmental Media Association (EMA), for advancing sustainable production across film and television
• Trailblazer Award - for innovation in location management
• Eva Monley Award - recognizing contributions to the profession

Recent Results (12th Annual Awards, August 2025)

• Outstanding Locations in a Period Feature Film: A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures) - Anthony Pisani/LMGI
• Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Feature Film: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures) - Ben Firminger/LMGI and team
• Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series: 1923 Season 2 (Paramount+) - David Zachary Heine/LMGI, James Crowley, Hayden Yancer/LMGI
• Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series: The Studio (Apple TV+) - Stacey Brashear/LMGI, Martin J. Cummins/LMGI
• Outstanding Locations in a TV Anthology/MOW/Limited Series: The Penguin (HBO Max) - Keith Adams/LMGI
• Outstanding Film Commission: New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission (for A Complete Unknown)
• Outstanding Locations in a Commercial: Orient Express: "Artisan of Travel" (Belmond) - Cagdas Altun and team

Membership and Voting

The LMGI offers four levels of membership for location professionals:

• Location Pro Members: Requires 300 paid working days in the location department plus three professional references (two must be LMGI members). Annual dues: $135. Full voting rights and board eligibility.
• Location Associate Members: Requires 150 paid working days plus three professional references. Annual dues: $85. All membership benefits except voting rights and board eligibility.
• Location Apprentice Members: For emerging professionals who do not yet meet the day requirements. Non-voting.
• Industry Members: For professionals in related fields (producers, production designers, UPMs, directors) who support the LMGI mission. Non-voting.

A one-time non-refundable $35 application fee applies to all new applications. As of late 2025, the LMGI introduced regionally adjusted membership pricing based on World Bank income classifications, offering 25% to 50% dues discounts for members in emerging economies. To apply, visit the LMGI membership application portal.

History

The Location Managers Guild International was founded in 2014 to represent location professionals worldwide. Prior to the LMGI's formation, location management had no dedicated guild or awards body, despite being one of the most logistically complex departments on any production. The first awards ceremony was held in 2014, making the LMGI Awards one of the newest ceremony traditions in the film industry.

The guild has grown to include members working across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and other regions. In 2025, the LMGI ratified a bylaws amendment introducing tiered regional membership pricing to reduce financial barriers for location professionals in developing production markets.

Significance for Filmmakers

For location managers and scouts, the LMGI Awards are the only dedicated peer recognition for their craft. Location work requires visual sensibility, negotiation skill, logistical expertise, and local knowledge that no other awards body acknowledges. An LMGI nomination or win on a production signals to producers and directors that the location department actively elevated the storytelling, not just facilitated it.

For directors and producers, LMGI nominations identify productions where location choices went beyond functional to creative. The 2025 Period Film winner A Complete Unknown used New Jersey locations to stand in for 1960s New York, while the Contemporary Film winner Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning coordinated location work across England, Norway, South Africa, and Malta. The Film Commission award recognizes the government and regional offices that make complex location shoots possible.

The 2026 Lifetime Achievement recipient Mike Fantasia has worked on nearly 40 features, including TOPGUN: Maverick, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. His career demonstrates the range of location work from military aviation coordination to period Oklahoma landscapes to New York City action sequences.

Past Winners and What They Won With

The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards recognize outstanding creative contributions of location professionals in film, television, and commercials. Recent winners include A Complete Unknown (Period Film, using New Jersey locations to stand in for 1960s New York), Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Contemporary Film, coordinating location work across England, Norway, South Africa, and Malta), and the 2026 Lifetime Achievement recipient Mike Fantasia, who has worked on nearly 40 features including TOPGUN: Maverick, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. The LMGI Awards cover categories including Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Film, Outstanding Locations in a Period Film, Outstanding Locations in a Television Series, Outstanding Locations in a Commercial, and the Film Commission Award. The ceremony is held annually in Los Angeles. The LMGI was founded in 2003 and represents location managers and scouts across the US and internationally.

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

For location managers and scouts, the LMGI Awards are the only dedicated peer recognition for their craft. Location work requires visual sensibility, negotiation skill, logistical expertise, and local knowledge that no other awards body acknowledges. An LMGI nomination or win on a production signals to producers and directors that the location department actively elevated the storytelling, not just facilitated it. For directors and producers, LMGI nominations identify productions where location choices went beyond functional to creative. The Film Commission award recognizes the government and regional offices that make complex location shoots possible, highlighting the partnership between location departments and film commissions. Submissions are open to LMGI members and non-members, with eligibility based on the production's release or broadcast date during the eligibility period. The awards are voted by the LMGI membership, with separate judging panels for each category.

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See Also

For understanding how location decisions affect production budgets, see Budget Breakdown for Independent Films. To model production costs including location fees and permits, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For evaluating location spend against projected returns, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.