DGA Student Film Awards

 


For more than two decades, the DGA Student Film Awards have spotlighted dozens of African American, Asian American, Latino and Women filmmakers. Winners of the DGA Student Film Awards in each category will receive a $2,500 prize from the DGA.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.


CURRENT & PREVIOUS YEARS WINNERS

29th Annual DGA Student Film Awards Winners


 BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS:

East Region

  • Award Winner: Danielle Grace Nebeliuk of Savannah College of Art and Design – The Last Black Dinosaur
  • Jury Award: Anndi Jinelle Liggett of NYU – Jelly

West Region

  • Award Winner: Kennedy Love-Green of UCLA — Portrait
  • Jury Award: Ifeanyi Ezieme of USC – Ebezina

BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS:

East Region

  • Award Winner: Tianyu Du of Boston University – Bob
  • Jury Award: Keith Leung of NYU – I, Chinese

West Region

  • Award Winner: Naomi Christie of American Film Institute — Object of Desire
  • Jury Award: Yutong Cao of Loyola Marymount University — The Rowboat

BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKERS

East Region

  • Award Winner: Monica Matute of Savannah College of Art and Design – Working From Home
  • Jury Award: Valery Garcia of Florida State University – Descension

West Region

  • Award Winner: Giselle Bonilla of American Film Institute — The Bullfighter
  • Jury Award: James Valdez of NY Film Academy — Canta Santiago

BEST WOMEN STUDENT FILMMAKERS

East Region

  • Award Winner: Leah Chen Baker of NYU – Belated
  • Jury Award: Mary Louise Renegar of University of North Carolina School of the Arts – The Chaperone

West Region

  • Award Winner: Jacqueline Elyse Rosenthal of USC — Backlog
  • Jury Award: Anna Lo Westlin of American Film Institute — Bienvenido Juanito

BEST DOCUMENTARY STUDENT FILMMAKERS

East Region

  • Award Winner: Jiale Hu of NYU – No Memories Lost

West Region

  • Award Winner: Majiye Uchibeke of USC — I Am More Dangerous Dead
  • Jury Award: Matthew Cheung of Loyola Marymount University — A Balancing Act

Eligible films must be made in the 2022/2023 school year (September 2022 through August 2023) and produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member. Animated films, experimental films, commercials, music videos and webisodes are not eligible. Applicants must be enrolled in or be a recent (one-year) graduate from, an accredited post-secondary institution located in the United States and selected by the DGA. Eligible films are those in which students hold every major crew position.

The East Region screenings and ceremony took place at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The West Region screenings and ceremony took place at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 14, 2023.


See a gallery of selected photos from this year's ceremonies below. 
Click here to see the full galleries and recaps of the 2023 events.