Written by Shona Smith on Dec 17, 2018. Posted in Awards and Festivals

COLA awards recognise location work on Captain Marvel, Netflix’s Bird Box and HBO’s Sharp Objects

Presented by the Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) the twenty-fourth California On Location Awards (COLA’s) took place this Sunday in Beverly Hills. The awards which honour the best location professionals in California are decided by members of FLICS, past COLA winners and a steering committee of Teamsters Local 399 members.

Big winners this year include Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel and output from HBO.

The location department on Captain Marvel scooped up all the awards available to Studio Feature Films on the night. Location manager Ilt Jones walked away with the COLA for Location Manager of the year - Studio Feature Film while the Teamsters Local 399 award for Assistant Location Manager - Feature Film was awarded to Lee David Lee for his work on the film. The film's location team were awarded the COLA for Location Team of the Year – Studio Feature Film. Set for release in March, production on Captain Marvel was based in Los Angeles but filming also took place in Louisiana and Nevada.

Boyd Wilson, Location Manager on Netflix original Bird Box walked away with the COLA for Location Manager of the Year - Independent Feature Film while the Location Team of the Year – Independent Features also went to the thriller. LA served as the base for Bird Box, but key scenes were shot on the Smith River in Del Norte County, North West California.  

HBO’s Sharp Objects and Camping were both recognised for their location work by voters. Gregory Alpert won the award in the one-hour television category for his work on Sharp Objects which filmed throughout California in LA, Santa Clarita, Mendocino County, Redwood Valley as well as in Georgia State.

Michael Levy, Location Manager on Nike Choose Go!, a spot featuring Kobe Bryant, Edinson Cavani, Sadie Sink, Bill Nye and Kevin Hart, was awarded the COLA for Commercials, while Location Team of the year in Commercials went to ATT FirstNet.

This year, Teamsters Local 399 awarded the first ever Distinguished Service Award to Philip Strub Entertainnment Liason at the Department of Defense for exceptional leadership and devoted service. Recently retired and unable to collect the award, U.S. Navy film liaison David Daitch accepted the award on Strub's behalf.

The COLA’s also recognise the service of public employees in the state who are integral to facilitating shooting on location throughout the state. This year, John Blanco from the Federal Aviation Administration, Dena Bellman from California State Parks, Gary Smith from Los Angeles County Chief Executives Office and Mark White from the LA Department of Public works were awarded COLA's.

Image Credits: HBO and Marvel Studios