Academy Expands Student Oscar Criteria

Via AMPAS

The 2017 Student Academy Awards® competition has been launched for its 44th year, with the Academy now accepting submissions.

The Student Academy Awards have become one of the key routes to the main Oscars, and an important stepping stone in the career of future Hollywood hopefuls, as all Student Academy Award® winners become eligible for Oscars® consideration. The entry deadline for submissions this year is Thursday, June 1.

New this year, the competition has expanded to allow two options for students at international film schools to submit their films. In addition to CILECT-member schools submitting one student film per international film school category, international students may now enter films that qualify through film festivals recognized by the Student Academy Awards Executive Committee.

The U.S. competition is open to all full-time undergraduate and graduate students whose films are made within the curricular structure of an eligible accredited institution.

The 44th Student Academy Awards presentation will be held on Thursday, October 12, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Past winners have gone on to receive 57 Oscar nominations and have won or shared 10 awards. This year one 2016 Student Academy Award winner received an Oscar nomination in the Documentary Short Subject category: Daphne Matziaraki, a Gold Medal winner in the Documentary category for “4.1 Miles.” Past Student Academy Award winners include acclaimed filmmakers Pete Docter, Cary Fukunaga, John Lasseter, Spike Lee, Trey Parker and Robert Zemeckis.

In 1972, the Academy established the Student Academy Awards to provide a platform for emerging global filmmakers by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.