The Society for Moving Images about the Built Environment (SMIBE) hosts an annual online moving image competition for short films about the built environment. The competition challenge for 2011 is to produce an engaging and entertaining moving image story (no longer than three minutes in length) that illustrates the theme of Building Revolution. After submission the entries go through a jury process to choose a winner. The jury is composed of well-known architects, writers, artists, and filmmakers from Los Angeles. We look for stories that reveal new sides or issues about the built world told by memorable characters. Above all, we look for groundbreaking work that blends rigorous craft with intelligent storytelling. The entries are posted on the SMIBE web site and structure and space for comment and discussion is provided.

The SMIBE 2011 Short Film Competition winner is Pieces from Georges Perec’s Species of Spaces by James C. Cameron Silva from the United Kingdom. The runner up is Exotic Matter by Isaac Zambra, Carolina Saenz, David Sosa from Mexico.

Orhan Ayyüce is an architect and a senior editor at Archinect. Born in Izmir, Turkey, Ayyüce lives and works in Los Angeles. He studied architecture and graduated from SCI-Arc in 1981. His articles are regularly featured in Archinect and translated to several languages via international blogs and architectural portals. He is also a regular columnist for Arkitera.com, based in Istanbul, and he currently publishes his personal blog elseplace.

Juan Azulay is the director of Los Angeles–based firm Matter Management. His award-winning practice ranges widely in discipline, methodology, and media, spanning work from architecture to film. Azulay received his BArch from SCI-Arc and his MS in advanced architectural design (MSAAD) from Columbia. He is currently on the faculty at SCI-Arc, and he also has taught at Columbia University and at the ETSAV. Azulay's work has been featured in Arquitectura Viva, Quaderns, Architect, La Vanguardia, Espai Picasso, Abstract, Architectural Record, and LA Architect, and his work is part of the permanent collection at the MAK in Vienna.

Bill Ferehawk is a documentary filmmaker who uses the built environment as a lens to examine important issues of American life. Recent films include Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future; Vladamir Ossipoff: True to Form; and Lustron: The House America's Been Waiting For. Bill holds an MArch from the Yale School of Architecture and a BA in art history from University of California, Berkeley.

Sarah Lorenzen, RA, is an architect and an associate professor in the Architecture Department at Cal Poly, Pomona, where she teaches courses in architecture, urban design, and film. She is also the resident director of the Neutra VDL House, and she is a principal at the multimedia design firm Plasmatic Concepts. Recent projects include a video installation for the Palm Springs Museum; a thirty-minute documentary film about the Los Angeles River (funded by the Graham Foundation); a short motion graphics piece about informal urbanism in Mexico City; and an temporary exhibition space in Mumbai, India. Sarah holds degrees from the Atlanta College of Art (BFA), Georgia Tech (MArch) and SCI-Arc (MArch, MR+D.)

Peter Tolkin is an architect and a photographer. He received his BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz; an MFA in photography from the California Institute of the Arts; and an MArch from Columbia University. He has been recognized with numerous AIA awards and his work has been published in the New York Times, Architectural Record, Dwell, Domus, Abitare, and Interior Design, among others. He has served as design instructor, lecturer, and critic at Cal Poly Pomona, Woodbury University, California College of the Arts, Art Center, Columbia, and SCI-Arc.

SMIBE is a volunteer-run educational and professional organization that supports the advancement of moving image arts about the built environment. Who is SMIBE for? SMIBE welcomes anyone creating stories in moving images about the built environment. Who is SMIBE and what does SMIBE do? SMIBE was founded in 2007 by Bill Ferehawk and Sarah Lorenzen as a means to bring together the growing body of video and digital media about the built environment; to provide a forum where work can be exhibited, critiqued, and discussed; and to advocate for the medium in broadcast and theatrical distribution.