The ASC has nominated 13 student cinematographers for 2015 ASC Gordon Willis Heritage Awards. A blue-ribbon panel of ASC members judged the entries, which were submitted in three categories: Undergraduate, Graduate and Documentary (Graduate and Undergraduate).
The nominees are:
UNDERGRADUATE
♦ Nicolas Aguilar Ketchum, Chapman University, Run
♦ Garrett Nicholson, Ithaca College, Nightfire
♦ Sten Olson, Chapman University, Darkstar
♦ Casey Schendel, Cal State University-Northridge, The Death of Colm Canter
♦ Oren Soffer, New York University, Reservations
♦ West Webb, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, No Tip
GRADUATE
♦ Justin Alpern, Chapman University, Straw Dolls
♦ Paul Cannon, University of California-Los Angeles, Awaken
♦ John Wakayama Carey, Columbia University School of the Arts, Two Sisters
♦ Steven Holloway, American University, The Defeat x3
♦ Nico Navia, American Film Institute, Against Night
♦ Justin Perkinson, University of California-Los Angeles, Random Stop
DOCUMENTARY
♦ Rob Scribner, Full Sail University, Warbird Pilot: Behind the Visor
The judges selected just one finalist in the Documentary category, making Scribner the winner.
The Heritage Awards are renamed annually in memory of an extraordinary ASC member. Willis, who died in 2014, was the cinematographer on the Godfather trilogy, Klute, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men, Annie Hall, Manhattan and Pennies from Heaven, among other films. He received Academy Award nominations for Zelig and The Godfather Part III, and he received an honorary Academy Award in 2009. The ASC honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
“These students are only beginning their dance with the art form, and there is no better example for them to study than Gordon Willis as they strive to reach the next level,” said ASC President Richard Crudo. “His bold inventiveness changed the way movies looked, and cut the path for everything we’ve come to accept as outstanding cinematography.”
The winners will be announced at an ASC Clubhouse banquet Sept. 26.