By Jazz Tangcay, Mya Copeland, Isabelle Farina, Tanya Fedak
Aulo Licinio: Felix Guenette Courtesy Images In 2026, moviegoers came back to cinemas, packing theaters to see blockbusters like “The Odyssey,” “Project Hail Mary,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “Toy Story 5,” “Michael” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and low-budget films like “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” But all those movies needed skilled artisans to complete the directors’ visions, including those on Variety’s 10 Artisans to Watch list. The honorees will be feted at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which runs Oct. 24-31.
Past honorees have often gone on to earn Oscar nominations. Last year, “Sinners” DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “KPop Demon Hunters” songwriter EJAE and “One Battle After Another” editor Andy Jurgensen all went on to win Oscars.
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Anne Jimkes
Supervising sound editor, “The Mosquito Bowl”
Jimkes approached the film’s World War II Pacific Theater setting with a focus on authenticity, researching the specific weapons used by the Japanese and American military forces, including the M1 Garand rifle.
Its distinctive metallic “ping” served as more than just a historically accurate reference. “It adds a sense of urgency, and it’s a decision-making moment,” Jimkes says, noting the sound signals when a character must reload, switch weapons or resort to hand-to-hand combat.
The sounds of the soldiers were a priority. The breaths and physical reactions recorded on set were pushed forward against the chaos of the battle to ground the characters’ humanity. Even in quieter scenes, the jungle location was alive with sound, creating a sense of pressure surrounding the soldiers.
Blending these elements together is a process Jimkes refers to as a “parade of sound,” adding, “Your brain can only process so many sounds at the same time. However, it’s very good at processing rapidly successive sounds.”
The sound needed to move the story forward. For Jimkes, that meant determining which sound should take priority in each moment while never losing sight of the people at the center of the film’s story. — Tanya Fedak
