September 11, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Directors Guild of America today announced the winners of the 2008 DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and women filmmakers. 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 spotlight promising new directors from film schools and universities across the country,” said Michael Apted, president of the Guild. “We’re honored to call attention to these exciting young filmmakers and to encourage diversity in the entertainment industry at the same time. We look forward to seeing more of their work in the future.”
The 2008 winners, selected by blue ribbon DGA member panels, are:
BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Coast: William Sutphin of Columbia University for Uncle Killa
West Coast: Hezekiah Lewis of UCLA for Warrior Queen
West Coast Honorable Mention: Anthony Onah of UCLA for The Cure
BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Coast: Wei-Hsin Yang of Columbia University for Passing Fancy
West Coast: Ching-Yao Koh of Academy of Art for Overnight, a Rose
West Coast Honorable Mention: Ross Ching of San Diego State University for The Perfect Frame
BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Coast: Marco Garcia of North Carolina School of the Arts for 1915
West Coast: Adriana Montenegro of UCLA for From the Core
West Coast Honorable Mention: Roberto Gudino of University of Arizona for Below the Fold: The Pulitzer that Defined Latino Journalism
BEST WOMAN STUDENT FILMMAKER:
East Coast: Elina Fessa of Columbia University for Still Water
West Coast:
Miranda Yousef of UCLA for
Collectibles
West Coast Honorable Mention: Alexandra Fisher of UCLA for Desert Wedding
The awards rules and procedures mandate that competing films must have been made in the 2007/2008 school year (September 2007 through August 2008), 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 on the East Coast and West Coast at the Directors Guild of America theaters.