News

On the heels of last Wednesday’s announcement in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual film school rankings that Chapman University (where I am currently teaching) remains steady at #7, the Academy announced the finalists for the Student Academy Awards.

Chapman has three films that were selected.

Typically nominees in the Animation category are from the top animation schools such as Cal Arts and this year’s success suggests Chapman is joining those ranks.

2015 Student Academy Awards Finalists

Keep checking back to Oscars.org to find out the winners and get more information about Chapman’s awards ceremony on September 17, 2015.

Alternative

Daniel Drummond, “Chiaroscuro,” Chapman University

M. Louis Gordon, “Girl in the Chair,” Nyu Tisch School of the Arts

ChiHyun Lee, “Zoe,” School of Visual Arts

Balbinka Korzeniowska, “Awaken,” UCLA

David Karp, “Disconnected,” Cornell University

Animation

Jack Anderson, “Wire Cutters,” Chapman University

Lynn Tomlinson, “The Ballad of Holland Island House,” Towson University

Alyce Tzue, “Soar,” Academy of Art University

Nicholas Manfredi, Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, “Taking the Plunge,” The School of Visual Arts

Seth Boyden, “An Object At Rest,” California Institute of the Arts

Tom Teller, “Hum,” Chapman University

Jenna Hamzawi, “Ram's Horn,” Brigham Young University

Documentary

Emily Kassie, “I Married My Family's Killer,” Brown University

Alexandre Peralta, “Looking at the Stars,” University of Southern California

Dan Kerrigan, “Rise and Shine,” Villanova University

Elinore Wright, “In Transition: Tony Chennault,” Villanova University

Eddie Roqueta, “Silencing the Thunder,” Montana State University

Meg Smaker, “Boxeadora,” Stanford University

Matthew Spaull, “Spiritus,” Rochester Institute of Technology

Foreign

Arthur Lecouturier, “Do You Even Know...,” Iad (Belgium)

Dustin Loose, “The Last Will,” Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany)

Fernanda Valadez, “400 Bags,” Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Mexico)

Nick Rowland, “Group B,” Nfts (United Kingdom)

Patrick Vollrath, “Everything Will Be Okay,” Filmacademy Vienna / Filmakademie Wien (Austria)

Ilker Çatak, “Fidelity,” Hamburg Media School (Germany)

Ahmed Abdullahi, “Francis,” Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (Sweden)

Narrative

Henry Hughes, “Day One,” American Film Institute

Bennett Lasseter, ”Stealth,” American Film Institute Conservatory

Stefan Kubicki, “Against Night,” AFI Conservatory

Jeremy Cloe, “This Way Up,” American Film Institute

Jesse Gustafson, “Day 39,” Columbia University

Justin S. Lee, “Drone, “USC School of Cinematic Arts

Kiel Adrian Scott, “Samaria,” New York University...

Now celebrating 42 years, the Student Academy Awards honor up-and-coming filmmakers who've submitted their projects earlier in the year to the Academy. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won eight awards, including John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee. Read More: Oscar Predictions 2016 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal Awards — with cash grants of $5000, $3000 and $2000, respectively — plus a trip to Los Angeles are given by the Academy. If they satisfy the criteria for a given Oscar category, winners are eligible to enter the following year's Academy Awards competition. Alternative Daniel Drummond, “Chiaroscuro,” Chapman University M. Louis Gordon, “Girl in the Chair,” Nyu Tisch School of the Arts ChiHyun Lee, “Zoe,” School of Visual Arts Balbinka Korzeniowska, “Awaken,” UCLA David Karp, “Disconnected,” Cornell University Animation Jack Anderson, “Wire Cutters,” Chapman University Lynn...

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