BURLINGTON, Mass., March 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Avid^® (Nasdaq:AVID) today congratulates its customers recognized at the 31st Independent Spirit Awards, the premier awards event honoring the independent film community. The awards, which took place in Santa Monica, California, recognized many of the independent film industry's most gifted editors who have embraced Avid Everywhere™, using Avid Artist Suite video creative tools, powered by the Avid MediaCentral™ Platform.

Avid customers relied on the industry's most proven and trusted video editing software Avid Media Composer^® to create Spirit Award-nominated and winning films, including Spotlight, the big winner of the night which took home five awards including Best Feature Film and Best Editing (Tom McArdle), as well as Best Editing nominees Manos Sucias (Kristan Sprague) and Room (Nathan Nugent). 

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson and edited by Nathan Nugent, the 2015 Canadian-British-Irish drama Room is about a woman (Brie Larson ) and her son (Jacob Tremblay) who were held captive for seven years in an enclosed room. After finally gaining their freedom, the boy experiences the outside world for the first time. 

"Being nominated for this prestigious award is another way of acknowledging the work of an amazing director, Lenny Abrahamson, and all those who worked alongside me through the post production process," said Nugent. "Media Composer provided us with all the tools to make storytelling a priority from the very first cut to the last."

Edited by Kristan Sprague, Manos Sucias is a film about a fisherman and a young man who begin trafficking drugs up the Pacific coast of Colombia. As they tow a drug-filled torpedo, they're forced to navigate through the war-torn region and the growing tension between them.

"I'm a big Avid fan," said Sprague. "When I'm cutting in Media Composer, I never have to think about workflow or how to do anything. Avid's tools allow me to just concentrate on telling a good story."  

"We're honored that the world's most spirited pioneers and independent film editors have embraced Avid Everywhere to bring their unique visions to filmmaking," said Avid Chairman, President and CEO Louis Hernandez, Jr. "We congratulate our Spirit Award-nominated and winning customers on their outstanding accomplishments that inspire our commitment to continual innovation."

About Avid
Through Avid Everywhere™, Avid delivers the industry's most open, innovative and comprehensive media platform connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption. Media organizations and creative professionals use Avid solutions to create the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world—from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, to the most popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, as well as a majority of today's most celebrated music recordings and live concerts. Industry leading solutions include Pro Tools®, Media Composer®, ISIS®, Interplay®, ProSet and RealSet, Maestro, PlayMaker, and Sibelius®. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, connect with Avid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, or subscribe to Avid Blogs.

© 2016 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, the Avid logo, Avid Everywhere, iNEWS, Interplay, ISIS, AirSpeed, MediaCentral, Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Sibelius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp. which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice.

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Sara Griggs

Avid

sara.griggs@avid.com

310-907-6909

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