Thirteen students from nine U.S. colleges and universities as well as three students from foreign universities have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards competition. They will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony, hosted by 1978 Student Academy Award winner and comedian Bob Saget, on Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
This year saw first-time honors go to Elon University, Occidental College and the University of Michigan in the U.S. competition, as well as to Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland, and RITS School of Arts, Belgium, in the foreign competition. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in each of the award categories will be announced at the June 8 ceremony.
The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title):
Alternative
“Bottled Up,” Rafael Cortina, Occidental College
“The Compositor,” John Mattiuzzi, School of Visual Arts
“Zug,” Perry Janes, University of Michigan
Animation
“Dia de los Muertos,” Lindsey St. Pierre and Ashley Graham, Ringling College of Art and Design
“Peck Pocketed,” Kevin Herron, Ringling College of Art and Design
“Will,” Eusong Lee, California Institute of the Arts
Documentary
“Every Tuesday: A Portrait of The New Yorker Cartoonists,” Rachel Loube, School of Visual Arts
“A Second Chance,” David Aristizabal, University of Southern California
“Win or Lose,” Daniel Koehler, Elon University
Narrative
“Josephine and the Roach,” Jonathan Langager, University of Southern California
“Ol’ Daddy,” Brian Schwarz, University of Texas at Austin
“Un Mundo para Ra๏ฟฝl (A World for Ra๏ฟฝl),” Mauro Mueller, Columbia University
Foreign Film
“Miss Todd,” Kristina Yee, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
“Parvaneh,” Talkhon Hamzavi, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
“Tweesprong (Crossroads),” Wouter Bouvijn, RITS School of Arts, Erasmus College Brussels, Belgium
To reach this stage, U.S. students competed in one of three regional competitions. Each region is permitted to send up to three finalists in each of the four categories. The Student Academy Awards Executive Committee screened and voted on the finalists in the Foreign Film category.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award๏ฟฝ winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar๏ฟฝ nominations and have won or shared eight awards. The roster includes such distinguished filmmakers as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.
The 40th Student Academy Awards ceremony on June 8 is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required. Tickets are available online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office, or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
About THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards-in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners-Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies. <a h
