The 2022 Student Academy Awards was held in Thursday’s David Geffen Theater at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. It featured students from USC, NYU and Griffith Film School in Australia.
This was the first ceremony in person since 2019, the other two Student Oscars having been held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new rules that saw U.S. and foreign film schools compete head-to-head in all categories was the first time they had done so. Film schools from other countries competed in different international categories.
“We’re a global organization and we’re reflecting a global film industry,”Kendra Carter, AMPAS VP Talent Development and Inclusion Programs told. “We wanted to reflect that with the Student Academy Awards so there’s no distinction or divide between international and domestic when it comes to excellent storytelling. Film is global, and our competition reflects film in the future.”
International schools won the top prizes in the animation category with Lachlan Pendragon’s “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” from the Griffith Film School in Australia and narrative category with Nils Keller’s “Almost Home”From the University of Television and Film Munich. American winners were USC’s Olivia Peace with “Against Reality” in the alternative/experimental category and NYU’s Shuhao Tse’s “Found”In the documentary category.
To receive silver medals, “Laika & Nemo”Jane Gadermann, Sebastian Gadow, Konrad Wolf Film University in Babelsberg (Germany) (animation). “Here to Stay”Jared Peraglia, NYU (documentary) “Rooms”Welf Reinhart of University of Television and Film Munich in Germany (narrative).
Bronze medalists were Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard and Nicolas Mayeur from France’s Pôle 3D Digital & Creative School for “The Seine’s Tears”(animation), Gabriella Channel and Michael Fearon are from Columbia University “Seasons”(documentary). Freddy Macdonald is from AFI. “Shedding Angels” (narrative). It was the first-ever Student Academy Award for the Pôle 3D Digital & Creative School.
Terrence Jenkins announced the winners previously, but did not reveal the placement of the medals until the ceremony. All winners are now eligible to receive Academy Awards in the Best Live-Action Short category, Best Animated Short category and Best Documentary Short category.
Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis and Trey Parker were the past recipients of Student Academy Awards.
The winners
Alternative/Experimental
Gold:“Against Reality,”Olivia Peace, University of Southern California
Animation
Gold:“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon, Griffith Film School, Australia
Silver:“Laika & Nemo,”Jan Gadermann, Sebastian Gadow, Konrad Wolf Film University in Babelsberg (Germany).
Bronze:“The Seine’s Tears,” Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard and Nicolas Mayeur, Pôle 3D Digital & Creative School, France
Documentary
Gold:“Found,” Shuhao Tse, New York University
Silver:“Here to Stay,”Jared Peraglia (New York University)
Bronze:“Seasons,”Gabriella Canal, Columbia University
Narrative
Gold:“Almost Home,”Nils Keller, University of Television and Film Munich (Germany).
Silver:“Rooms,”Welf Reinhart University of Television and Film Munich Germany
Bronze:“Shedding Angels,”Freddy Macdonald American Film Institute
