International Student Film Competition Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary; Ceremony Held at Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tonight honored its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 50th Student Academy Awards® ceremony. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards were announced and presented during an in-person ceremony held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received a total of 2,443 entries from 720 colleges and universities around the world. With welcome remarks by Patricia Cardoso, the night’s category presenters included “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, SAA committee chair Peggy Rajski and past winners Brad Bailey, Sujin Kim, Ken Kwapis, Freddy Macdonald, Olivia Peace and Kevin Wilson Jr. The 2023 ceremony is available to view:
The 2023 Student Academy Award medalists are:
Alternative/Experimental
Gold: “Skin,” Leo Behrens, American Film Institute
Animation
Gold: “Boom,” Gabriel Augerai, Romain Augier & Yannick Jacquin, École des Nouvelles Images, France
Silver: “Diplomatie de l’Éclipse,” César Luton, Achille Pasquier & Clémence Bailly, MoPA 3D Animation School, France
Bronze: “Mum’s Spaghetti,” Lisa Kenney, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
Documentary
Gold: “Wings of Dust,” Giorgio Ghiotto, New York University
Silver: “Duet,” Lyuwei Chen, New York University
Bronze: “Hasta Encontrarlos (Till We Find Them),” Jean Chapiro, Columbia University
Narrative
Gold: “Invisible Border,” Mark Gerstorfer, Filmakademie Wien, Austria
Silver: “Revisited,” Iain Aigin Stronach Forbes, Den Norske Filmskolen, Norway
Bronze: “Istina (Truth),” Tamara Denić, Hamburg Media School, Germany
First-time honors go to École des Nouvelles Images (France).
All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for 2023 Oscars® in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film category. The 2023 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award® winners as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis. Past winners have gone on to receive 67 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.
ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is home to a global membership of more than 10,500 of the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders. The Academy recognizes and celebrates all aspects of the arts and sciences of moviemaking through renowned awards for cinematic achievement, including the Oscars®. With the world’s largest film museum and collection, the Academy preserves our cinematic history and presents honest and powerful programs about cinema’s past, present, and future. Across all initiatives, the Academy connects global audiences – its members, the film industry, and film fans – through their shared passion for making and watching films.