LOS ANGELES -- (SPW) --

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced that the application period for the 24^th Annual DGA Student Film Awards for African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and Women Directors is now open. The awards are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to exceptional direction by diverse student filmmakers in film schools and select universities across the country.

Over the years, the DGA Student Film Awards have highlighted dozens of African American, Asian American, Latino and Women filmmakers. Winners of the DGA Student Film Awards in each category will receive a $2,500 prize from the DGA and have their films screened in a special ceremony at the DGA Theater.  

A number of past winners have gone on to enjoy successful directing careers, including:

• Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II; Grown-ish; Rapture; The Land)

• Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians; Now You See Me 2; G.I. Joe: Retaliation; Step Up 3D)

• Ryan Coogler (Black Panther; Creed; Fruitvale Station)

• Nicole Kassell (Westworld; The Americans; The Following; The Killing)

• Patricia Riggen (Miracles From Heaven; The 33; Lemonade Mouth; Under the Same Moon)

• Sylvain White (Slender Man; The Americans; Hawaii Five-0; Empire; Stomp the Yard)

This year’s application period runs from April 18 – October 5, 2018, and the winners in each category will be announced in November. 

Eligible films must be made in the 2017/2018 school year (September 2017 through August 2018), and produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member. Dramas, comedies and documentaries are all eligible. Animated films, experimental films, commercials, music videos and webisodes are not eligible. Applicants must be enrolled in, or be a recent (one-year) graduate from, an accredited post-secondary institution located in the United States and selected by the DGA. Eligible films are those in which a student holds every major crew position. 

The DGA Student Film Awards application and submission process is entirely online. For more information, or to begin the application process, visit www.dga.org.

For more information on the DGA's diversity and inclusion efforts, visit: https://www.dga.org/The-Guild/Diversity.aspx 

About the DGA
In the eight decades since its founding in 1936, the DGA has fought for the economic and creative rights of its members; protected their ability to financially benefit from the reuse of their work; established strong pension and health plans; and established jurisdiction in new technologies and distribution platforms. Today we represent more than 17,000 directors and members of the directorial team working in film, television, commercials, new media and other audiovisual media. 

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