November 7, 2011
Los Angeles, CA – The Directors Guild of America today announced the winners of the 2011 DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women directors. The awards are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to outstanding minority and women directors in film schools and select universities across the country.
“The DGA Student Film Awards recognize talented new student filmmakers, and we congratulate this year’s exceptional recipients,” said DGA President Taylor Hackford. “The Guild is honored to spotlight these emerging directors who could lead our industry someday. We hope that this recognition will not only bring attention to these new artists, but also inspire them to take their next creative leap forward."
The 2011 winners, selected by blue ribbon DGA member panels, are:
BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Region:
- Award Winner: Faren Humes of FSU for Our Rhineland
- Jury Award: Taofik Kolade of NYU for The Binding of Ishmael
West Region:
- Award Winner: Gerard McMurray of USC for Battle Buddy
- Jury Award: Channing Godfrey Peoples of USC for Red
BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Region:
- Award Winner: Chun-Yi Hsieh of NYU for Bian Zi (Braid)
- Jury Award: Johnny Ma of Columbia Univ. for Play
West Region:
- Award Winner: Soham Mehta of Univ. of Texas at Austin for Fatakra
- Jury Award: Roshan Murthy of Univ. of Texas at Austin for Double Rainbow
BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Region:
- Award Winner: David Liz of FSU for Luz
- Jury Award: Julio Vargas of Hampshire College for The Wall That Binds Us
West Region:
- Award Winner: Richard Parkin of UCLA for Contra El Mar (Against the Sea)
- Jury Award: Carlos Marques-Marcet of UCLA for The Yellow Ribbon
BEST WOMAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Region:
- Award Winner: Bora Kim of Columbia Univ. for The Recorder Exam
- Jury Award: Annalisa Vozza of CCNY for Alex
West Region:
- Award Winner: Mitsuyo Miyazaki of USC for Tsuyako
- Jury Award: Ali Scher of USC for The Maiden and the Princess
The awards rules and procedures mandate that competing films must have been made in the 2010/2011 school year (September 2010 through August 2011), and must have been produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member. Dramas, comedies and documentaries are all eligible – animated and experimental films are not. Applicants must be enrolled in, or be a recent (one-year) graduate from, an accredited post-secondary institution in California or DGA-selected university offering a degree in film or television. Eligible films are those in which a student held every major crew position. Productions in which a non-student, professional or a faculty member served as cinematographer, camera operator, sound recordist, editor, lighting designer or screenwriter may be disqualified.
The award-winning films will be screened and the awards presented in ceremonies at the Directors Guild of America theaters in Los Angeles (Wednesday, November 9) and New York (Thursday, December 1).