Founded in 2008, Vimeo Staff Picks has emerged as one of the preeminent channels for online video and one of the most coveted awards for young filmmakers, having helped launch the careers of many celebrated directors. Out of the millions of videos uploaded to Vimeo in 2018, only 1,238 were Staff Picked and 93 of those exceptional videos were nominated for Best of the Year.

This year — for first time ever — Vimeo is elevating the celebration of their Staff Picks: Best of the Year awards by bringing in a jury of distinguished creators, industry experts and thought leaders to choose the Staff Picks that best exemplify the values of the Staff Picks program (originality, engaging storytelling and exceptional craft). The jurors, including Tony-winning actor & producer Alan Cumming, writer & producer of Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse Phil Lord, 7x world champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore, New York Times first “52 Places” journalist Jada Yuan and Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams, whittled down the nominees to the seven winners.

Best of the Year categories include: Best of Action Sports, Best of Animation, Best of Comedy, Best of Documentary, Best of Drama, Best of Eye Candy and Best of Travel.