ACADEMY ANNOUNCES STUDENT WINNERS

 

ACADEMY ANNOUNCES STUDENT WINNERS

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger

Photographer:  George Whylie

Videographer:  Maxine Nolan

 

On May 15th, 2012, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the winners for the 2012 Student Academy Awards.

This is a tremendous honor for rising young talent trying to make their mark on the entertainment industry.  These awards were established back in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at a collegiate level.  There were 10 students from 9 U.S. colleges and universities that were selected for this 39th annual competition.  The winners will be brought to Los Angeles to join the International Student winners in the Foreign Film category for a week of industry activities.

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 9th at 6:00 pm at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California where the placement in each category will be announced.  A student from the Art Institute of Jacksonville won the award becoming the first ever and a major accomplishment for both the winner and the university.

The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title in each category): Alternative “The Reality Clock,” Amanda Tasse, University of Southern California* *Only one winner was selected in this category. Animation “Eyrie,” David Wolter, California Institute of the Arts “The Jockstrap Raiders,” Mark Nelson, University of California, Los Angeles “My Little Friend,” Eric Prah, Ringling College of Art and Design Documentary “Dying Green,” Ellen Tripler, American University “Hiro: A Story of Japanese Internment,” Keiko Wright, New York University “Lost Country,” Heather Burky, Art Institute of Jacksonville Narrative “Nani,” Justin Tipping, American Film Institute “Narcocorrido,” Ryan Prows, American Film Institute “Under,” Mark Raso, Columbia University

To follow the journeys of each of these lucky winners, visit Studentacademyawards.tumblr.com.

This may only be the beginning of a successful career for these winners.  Past winners have gone on to receive Oscar nominations as recent as earlier this year at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.  The greatest honor of all is to claim the Oscar and that is within the grasp of each of these students with the right amount of determination and drive.

The foreign winners have also been selected for the 2012 Student Academy Awards. Three student films, selected from 51 entries representing 29 countries, have been chosen.

There will be three placements:

Gold medal winners will receive cash grants of $5,000  –  Silver medal winners will receive $3,000  –  Bronze medal winners will receive $2,000

The 2012 Foreign Film winners are (listed alphabetically by film title): “For Elsie,” David Winstone, University of Westminster, United Kingdom “Of Dogs and Horses,” Thomas Stuber, Film Academy Baden-Wüerttemberg, Germany “The Swing of the Coffin Maker,” Elmar Imanov, The International Film School Cologne, Germany

The 39th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony is free and open to the public but advance tickets are required.  You may get your tickets at www.oscars.org or in person at the Academy box office or you may choose to obtain by mail.  The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  Phone number is (310) 247-3600.

Good luck goes out to all these talented individuals for their hard work, creative efforts and the first step to professionally entering the world of entertainment.

PHOTO CREDITS:   The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences website