Coca-Cola names winners of 2009-10 filmmaker awards

March 17 -- University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts graduate students Andy Landen and Alice Mathias have won the 2009-10 Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker´s Award.

Their short film, "Message in a Bottle," will be shown on more than 21,000 movie screens across the nation this fall as part of Coca-Cola´s pre-feature programming.

The company said "Message in a Bottle," directed by Landen and produced by Mathias, depicts a light-hearted romance of how love develops through the simple act of recycling. Each day after school through rain and shine, a young man stops by the recycling depot to exchange one empty Coca-Cola bottle for a nickel. In the process, he develops a growing interest for the cute girl working at the counter. Embarking on a creative plan to ask her on a date to the movies, he one day delivers a Coca-Cola bottle with the special message inside.

Landen and Mathias will be presented with their award March 18, and will receive a $10,000 prize.

"The Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker´s Award competition brings out the best of the best in young filmmaking," said Stefanie Miller, vice president of strategic alliances for Coca-Cola North America. "The judges selected Andy and Alice´s film because they cleverly featured a fun connection between Coca-Cola and the movies. And it was an added bonus that they also used their film to communicate an important message about living positively through recycling."

The Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker´s Award has been presented by Coca-Cola each year since 1998. This year, students from 13 film schools submitted entries. Short films from the other 2009-10 top 10 contest finalists can be viewed at www.ccrfa.com.

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Amanda Smith-Teutsch at 330-865-6166 or asmith-teutsch@crain.com