WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—San Francisco State University student Shane Murphy will be able to add award-winning filmmaker to his resume, as his film “Sirens” won the grand prize for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Vista Project student filmmaker competition. Jon Navarro from Long Island University was the runner-up for his film “The Republican.”

Vista Project winner Shane Murphy

The Vista Project was hosted in part by TimePlay, which works in the multi-player interactive industry. TimePlay supplied its proprietary technology platform for the competition, allowing the filmmakers to create 10-minute short films where the audience can use their smartphones or tablets to interact and control outcomes on the big screen in real time.

“TimePlay’s innovative technology made this unique, interactive next-gen content creation possible,” said Bud Mayo, chairman of New Vision Theatres and founding chair of The Vista Project.

As the winner, Murphy has received a $5,000 grand prize. Navarro, as runner-up, received $2,500. Third place in the competition went to Ian Job of Africa Digital Media Institute in Nairobi, Kenya.

The winning films were screened and announced at last month’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas.