2010
AML Award:
DramaWebFilm
Presented to:
Jeffrey Parkin & Jared Cardon
For:
The Book of Jer3miah (web series)
The Association for Mormon Letters is pleased to honor The Book of Jer3miah for outstanding achievement in Drama. Or Film. Or Web series. Or perhaps, just, Amazing, Genre-defying Narrative.
In this brave new world of transmedia storytelling, of internet interactivity, in which narrative delivery systems expand and proliferate, possibilities multiply and opportunities abound, The Book of Jer3miah is something genuinely original, combining the best possibilities of a murder mystery, a conspiracy plot, some Book of Mormon lore, a story paralleling LDS history, and a coming-of-age drama. Its twenty episodes varied in length from two minutes to fifteen, and the series came complete with an alternate-reality on-line game. Viewers were drawn in through Facebook and Twitter.
College freshman Jeremiah Whitney is given an ancient Mesoamerican box, and told to keep it safe. His parents are murdered, and he discovers that he is trapped in a frightening conspiracy, and a desperate struggle for survival and redemption.
But this bald description can’t begin to describe the experience of following it, the breathless excitement as new pieces to the puzzle were revealed. Watching it became hopelessly addictive, not only for Mormons or BYU students, but all across the world — though to solve the mystery, it helped if you knew your way around the BYU campus. Fridays became Jer3miah day, a day devoted to watching and re-watching the latest installment. Some Jer3miah junkies even took field trips to Provo and Manti, looking for clues.
The Book of Jer3miah was created by BYU faculty members Jeffr3y Parkin & Jar3d Cardon with a class of some thirty students. Working with almost no budget, Parkin & Cardon and their students created something genuinely original, something incredibly addictive and fun, but also a profound examination of the plan of salvation and our search for meaning. The Association for Mormon Letters is proud to honor The Book of Jer3miah. We may not be entirely sure what to call it, what category to honor it in; all we know is, we loved it