Students from across Southern California dominated the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 39th annual Student Academy Awards.
Amanda Tasse of the University of Southern California and David Wolter of California Institute of the Arts were among the five students hailing from Southern California schools. Both received gold medals, the highest honor at Saturday’s ceremony at the motion picture academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Other winners of the gold medal included David Winstone of the University of Westminster in London, Mark Raso of Columbia University in New York and Keiko Wright of New York University.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight trophies.
At the 84th annual Academy Awards earlier this year, 2011 Student Academy Award winners Hallvar Witzo and Max Zahle were respectively nominated in the live action short film category for “Tuba Atlantic” and “Raju.” James Spione, a Student Academy Award winner in 1987, earned a nomination in the documentary short subject category for “Incident in New Baghdad.”
This year’s winners were:
Alternative
• Gold Medal: “The Reality Clock,” Amanda Tasse, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. (Only one winner was selected in this category.)
Animation
• Gold Medal: “Eyrie,” David Wolter, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, Calif.
• Silver Medal: “The Jockstrap Raiders,” Mark Nelson, University of California, Los Angeles.
• Bronze Medal: “My Little Friend,” Eric Prah, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Fla.
Documentary
• Gold Medal: “Hiro: A Story of Japanese Internment,” Keiko Wright, New York University, New York.
• Silver Medal: “Dying Green,” Ellen Tripler, American University, Washington D.C.
•Bronze Medal: “Lost Country,” Heather Burky, Art Institute of Jacksonville (Fla.).
Narrative
• Gold Medal: “Under,” Mark Raso, Columbia University, New York.
• Silver Medal: “Narcocorrido,” Ryan Prows, American Film Institute, Los Angeles.
• Bronze Medal: “Nani,” Justin Tipping, American Film Institute, Los Angeles.
Foreign Film
• Gold Medal: “For Elsie,” David Winstone, University of Westminster, London.
• Silver Medal: “Of Dogs and Horses,” Thomas Stuber, Film Academy, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.
• Bronze Medal: “The Swing of the Coffin Maker,” Elmar Imanov, The International Film School, Cologne, Germany.
