The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Friday the winners of its 50th annual Student Academy Awards.
The 14 winners were chosen from a total of 2,443 entries from 720 colleges and universities around the world. Those who take home trophies at the student awards are eligible to compete at the following Oscars in the animated short film, life action short film or documentary short film categories.
Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 67 Oscar nominations and have won 12 awards, with previous winners including Spike Lee, Pete Docter, Patricia Cardoso, Robert Zemeckis and Patricia Riggen.
Leo Behrens from the American Film Institute won the Alternative/Experimental award for his movie, Skin. Three groups of students were given trophies for animation: Gabriel Augerai, Romain Augier and Yannick Jacquin from France’s École des Nouvelles Images for Boom; César Luton, Achille Pasquier and Clémence Bailly from France’s MoPA 3D Animation School for Diplomatie de l’Éclipse; and Lisa Kenney from the United Kingdom’s National Film and Television School for Mum’s Spaghetti.
New York University’s Lyuwei Chen took home an award for her documentary Duet, as did Columbia University’s Jean Chapiro and NYU’s Giorgio Ghiotto for their docs Hasta Encontrarlos (Till We Find Them) and Wings of Dust, respectively.
The Student Academy Awards for best narrative went to: Mark Gerstorfer from Filmakademie Wien in Austria for Invisible Border; Iain Aigin Stronach Forbes from Den Norske Filmskolen in Norway for Revisited; and Tamara Denić from Hamburg Media School in Germany for Istina (Truth).
The young filmmakers will all participate in an in-person ceremony on Oct. 24 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where the winners’ medal placements — gold silver and bronze — will be announced.
The ceremony is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required and may be obtained online at oscars.org.
