Before June 2013, Rowlett native Ronnie Allman had never made a film of any kind of his life. Just a few months later, Allman can officially call himself an award-winning filmmaker.

That's because Allman, who works as an art director at a San Francisco ad agency, was just named one of five winners of Canon's Project Imaginat10n contest for his debut short film, Filter. The contest was personally judged by director Ron Howard and his daughter, actress/director Bryce Dallas Howard.

Allman's film, a haunting eight-minute piece about a world where people cannot use tap water or go outside without wearing gas masks, was shot over just five days this past June and July. Without any spoken dialogue, it tells the story of one man trying to live in this strange world while still feeling the effects of a personal tragedy.

Unlike the other four winners, Allman had no previous experience making anything other than home movies, which makes his accomplishment all the greater. The other four winners include Arrius Sorbonne from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles-area residents Jared Nelson, Julian Higgins and Kalman Apple.

The films of five winners will be shown at the upcoming Project Imaginat10n Film Festival, along with films by five celebrity directors: Eva Longoria, Jamie Foxx, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, former LCD Soundsystem lead singer James Murphy and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. But you can see all five winning films now by going to imagination.usa.canon.com.

"It just amazes me what can be done these days with a simple camera, an imagination and great group of friends," Allman says. "I am so shocked that my film won, and I cannot wait to meet Ron Howard."

The first time was a charm for filmmaker Ronnie Allman, as his debut short Filter was named one of five winners of the Project Imaginat10n contest.

  

Photo courtesy of Ronnie Allman

The first time was a charm for filmmaker Ronnie Allman, as his debut short Filter was named one of five winners of the Project Imaginat10n contest.