Since its inception in 1972, the Student Academy Awards has existed as an annual student film competition to honor emerging talent from around the world. The 50th anniversary ceremony was held on Tuesday night at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where a new class of medalists was unveiled.
This year, a grand total of 2,443 entries were received from 720 colleges and universities. Medals were awarded across four categories: Alternative/Experimental, Animation, Documentary, and Narrative. (Of note, all Student Academy Award-winning short films are eligible to compete for nominations at the 96th Oscars.)
Filmmaker Patricia Cardoso, herself a Student Academy Award winner, was on hand to provide welcome remarks. Past winners also include Oscar winners Pete Docter, Spike Lee, and Robert Zemeckis. (Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 67 Oscar nominations in total and win 12 Oscars.)
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
RELATED CONTENT:
The Academy Sets Executive Producers, Director for 'Reinvigorated' 96th Oscars
