Thirteen students from 10 U.S. colleges and universities have been named winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 37th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. Academy members viewed these films at special screenings and vote to determine the winner’s placements. The student filmmakers will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry-related activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 12, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. One student filmmaker from the United Kingdom was also selected to receive this year’s Honorary Foreign Film award.
While U.S. winners know they will each receive an award, their placement – Gold, Silver or Bronze – were not revealed until June 12 ceremony. Gold Medal award winners receive cash grants of $5,000, Silver Medal award winners receive $3,000 and Bronze Medal award winners receive $2,000. The Honorary Foreign Film winner receives a $1,000 cash grant.
The U.S. students first competed in one of three regional competitions. Each region was permitted to send as many as three finalist films in each of four award categories. Academy members then screened the finalists’ films and voted to select the winners.
“The Confession,” the Honorary Foreign Film winner, was selected from a pool of 61 entries representing 36 countries.
The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 40 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared seven awards. At the 82nd Academy Awards, Pete Docter, who earned a Student Academy Award in 1992, took home the Oscar for Animated Feature Film for “Up.” He also earned a nomination for the original screenplay for the film. Additionally, Gregg Helvey, a 2009 Student Academy Award winner, received his first Oscar nomination in the Live Action Short Film category for “Kavi.”