LOS ANGELES—The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today said it has begun accepting submissions for its expanded HPA Engineering Excellence Awards, which now honor innovation and technology.
The expanded program, called HPA Awards Innovation & Technology, reflects how innovation and disruptive technology are contributing to the rapid evolution of the media content industry and the broader M&E technology space, HPA said.
“The Engineering Excellence Award created a legacy we’re proud of. These new awards take that foundation and move us into the future,” said HPA Awards Innovation & Technology co-chair Joachim Zell.
For 20 years, the HPA Engineering Excellence Award has recognized engineering achievement. The HPA Awards Innovation & Technology introduces new categories that cover the entire production lifecycle from pre-production through distribution and audience experience.
The expanded awards recognize the impact of innovation and technology on the broader professional media and entertainment ecosystem, spanning film, television, streaming, advertising and branded content for lifestyle and retail experiences, it said.
The criteria for judging will include innovation, current industry impact, technical merit and adoption readiness.
Awards will be presented for:
- Innovation in pre-production
- Innovation in production and capture
- Innovation in VFX, virtual production and animation
- Innovation in post-production
- Innovation in distribution and audience experience
HPA is also launching two special awards, the HPA Transformative Impact Award and the HPA Tech Retreat Best in Show. The former recognizes the single idea in any given year with the most potential to transform the professional media content industry ecosystem. Any submissions for the listed categories are automatically eligible for consideration for the transformative impact award.
The latter special award will be selected by HPA Tech Retreat attendees at the most innovative technology exhibited in the Innovation Zone at the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat.
“We’re expanding recognition to spotlight practical innovations that teams can deploy today — while highlighting the ideas most likely to redefine tomorrow,” said co-chair Chuck Parker.
The HPA Awards Innovation & Technology will be presented at the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat on Feb. 18, 2026, at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
HPA also announced key awards date:
- Submission deadline: October 17, 2025.
- Nominations announced: January 2026.
- HPA Awards Innovation & Technology Ceremony: Feb. 18, 2026.
- HPA Special Awards Honors given: Feb. 19, 2026.
More information is available on the HPA website.
