The 30th Annual DGA Student Film Awards


Mission Statement: The Directors Guild of America Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women Directors are designed to honor, encourage, and bring attention to outstanding student directors in DGA selected film schools in the Eastern and Western regions. The awards bring prizes of $2,500 to the winners in each category in both regions. Awards ceremonies will be held on dates to be determined.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
All submissions must be submitted by Monday, October 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm PDT.


GENERAL RULES

Please read the eligibility requirements below. Once you check the box at the bottom of the page acknowledging your agreement to abide by all entry rules, you may begin the application.


  1. Eligible student films are those in which a student holds every major crew position including director, screenwriter(s), producer(s), cinematographer(s) and editor(s). 

  2. Animated films, experimental films, commercials, music videos, and webisodes are NOT eligible.

  3. Documentaries will be submitted for consideration only for the Documentary Award, which is open to all African American, Asian American, Latino and Women student documentary directors.

  4. All music rights must be obtained prior to submission.

  5. Applicant must be the Director of the film. No co-director applicants.

  6. Applicant must be enrolled in or be a recent graduate (within one year) from an accredited post-secondary institution located in the United States and selected by the DGA. If your school is not listed and you are interested in applying, please contact studentfilmawards@dga.org

  7. Key Crew Members (screenwriter[s]; producer[s]; cinematographer[s]; editor[s]) must be enrolled in or be a recent graduate (within two years) from an accredited post-secondary institution. Note: Key crew members do not have to attend the same accredited post-secondary institution.

  8. Competing films must have been completed in the 2023 / 2024 school year (September 2023 through August 2024).

  9. Only films or videos produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member are eligible.

  10. Students may submit more than one film, but may not submit the same film to more than one category (African American, Asian American, Latino or Women) or re-submit the same film from a previous year. For example, a woman of color may submit a film to either an ethnic minority category or the women’s category or submit films to both categories as long as it is not the same film. If you are submitting two different films, please note you will need to submit a separate application form for each.

  11. Applicants must submit a streaming URL link of the film (Vimeo or YouTube only). If the link is password-protected, you must submit the viewing password. Downloadable files will not be accepted.

  12. Entries should be no longer than 40 minutes in length.

  13. Winners must submit their same completed film in its final format for screening at the Awards ceremony.

  14. The application must be completed in its entirety. Omitting any requested information or providing false information on the application may lead to disqualification.


Contact
Michelle Preciado
Manager, Special Events & Diversity Programs
For more information please email:
studentfilmawards@dga.org