Hollywood Professional Association Concludes the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat with 800+ Industry Leaders and a Week Focused on the Future of Media Technology
More than 40 sessions explored AI, production innovation, and evolving media economics, alongside the presentation of the 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology winners.
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) concluded the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, convening more than 800 industry leaders, technologists, creatives and executives for five days of forward-looking dialogue at the intersection of media, technology and storytelling.
Held Feb. 15–19, the retreat featured more than 40 curated sessions examining the forces reshaping the global media landscape — from artificial intelligence and virtual production to workflow transformation, monetization strategies and the evolving economics of content creation. The program reinforced the HPA Tech Retreat’s standing as a forum for candid exchange, technical depth and cross-disciplinary insight.
A defining moment of the week was presentation of the 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology honors, the expanded evolution of the HPA Engineering Excellence Award. The reimagined program reflects increasingly interconnected production pipelines and affirms HPA’s commitment to recognizing innovation across the full content life cycle — from pre-production through audience experience.
The 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology category winners are:
Innovation in Pre-Production
Bria AI — GenAI Attribution Technology
Innovation in Production & Capture
Creamsource — Slyyd Lighting Control App
Innovation in VFX, Virtual Production & Animation
Nerfstudio and Industrial Light & Magic — Nerfstudio
Innovation in Post-Production
Flawless — TrueSync
Innovation in Distribution & Audience Experience
SyncWords Inc. — LiveCore + Kobe Muxer
In addition to the category honors, HPA presented two special recognitions reflecting long-term industry impact and peer-selected excellence during the retreat.
The HPA Transformative Impact Award, recognizing the submission with the greatest potential to reshape the professional media content ecosystem, was awarded to Bria AI — GenAI Attribution Technology. The honor recognizes breakthrough innovation signaling a meaningful shift in how content is created, managed and delivered.
The HPA Tech Retreat Best in Show Award, selected by attendees as the most innovative technology exhibited in the Innovation Zone, was presented to Global Objects.
“I am deeply energized by the success of the 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology honors,” said Renard T. Jenkins, president of the Hollywood Professional Association. “These honors reflect more than technical achievement — they represent the collaborative spirit and creative ingenuity that propel our industry forward. By recognizing the individuals and teams redefining how stories are imagined, crafted and experienced, HPA continues to champion progress across our global creative community.”
Leon Silverman, past HPA president and Supersession program chair, added: “This year’s reengineered awards framework reflects the transformation occurring across workflows and tools. The caliber of nominees and recipients underscores the meaningful, peer-driven recognition that defines HPA’s role in advancing excellence and innovation throughout the media ecosystem.”
Beyond the formal program, the retreat sustained its tradition of fostering peer-to-peer dialogue, cross-sector collaboration and practical insight into how emerging technologies are deployed in real-world production environments.
Attendees represented studios, broadcasters, streamers, technology providers, creative teams and enterprise media organizations, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of the global media industry.
The week also included a tribute honoring longtime HPA Tech Retreat contributor Mark Schubin, who announced he would step back from his role as the event’s unofficial “maestro,” passing the baton to a new generation of leaders as the HPA Tech Retreat continues to advance the future of media technology.
The 2027 HPA Tech Retreat will take place Feb. 14–18, 2027, at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California.
For sponsorship or advertising opportunities, contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com. For more information about the HPA Awards or the Hollywood Professional Association, visit HPAonline.com.