2018 International Math Union awards

To create videos unveiling the 2018 winners of the highest honors in the field of mathematics, we partnered with the International Math Union and the Simons Foundation on a highly secretive, globetrotting mission spanning many months and several continents.

Our project had two overall editorial goals: to profile each winner — whose selection was still secret even to the universities and research laboratories where they worked — while concisely and accurately explaining groundbreaking research in advanced physics, geometry and algebra a lively, relatable way.

Challenges were manifold as our small team moved quietly on a tight schedule in and out of the United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland and university campuses across the United States, with mere months in between the IMU’s selection of winners and the ceremony in Rio de Janiero, Brazil where our videos would reveal their names.

Ultimately, each short film reframed the winners in highly personal terms, showcasing their cutting-edge academic feats while exploring their personal triumphs over loneliness, intellectual dead ends, displacement and government oppression.

Winner of a 2019 Webby editing award and a 2019 platinum award from the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals.

Written and produced by John Hubbell. Filmed and co-produced by Lance Murphey. Edited and illustrated by Jennifer Smart. Co-produced by Philip Yam. Meredith Hogan, project manager. Score by Jonathan Kirkscey.