April 24, 2019
Los Angeles – The Directors Guild of America (DGA) today announced that the application period for the 25th Annual DGA Student Film Awards for African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and Women Directors is now open. The awards are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to exceptional direction by diverse student filmmakers in film schools and select universities across the country.
Over the years, the DGA Student Film Awards have highlighted 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 and have their films screened in a special ceremony at the DGA Theater.
A number of past winners have gone on to enjoy successful directing careers, including:
- Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II, Grown-ish, Rapture, The Land)
- Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Now You See Me 2; G.I. Joe: Retaliation)
- Ryan Coogler (Black Panther; Creed; Fruitvale Station)
- Nicole Kassell (Castle Rock; Westworld; The Americans; The Following)
- Patricia Riggen (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan; Miracles From Heaven; The 33; Lemonade Mouth)
- Justin Tipping (Dear White People; The Chi; Black Monday)
- Sylvain White (Slender Man, The Americans; Hawaii Five-0; Empire; Stomp the Yard)
This year’s application period runs from April 23 – October 4, 2019, and the winners in each category will be announced in November.
Eligible films must be made in the 2018/2019 school year (September 2018 through August 2019), and produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member. Dramas, comedies and documentaries are all eligible. 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 a student holds every major crew position.
The Student Film Awards application and submission process is entirely online.
For more information, or to apply, visit the Student Film Awards page.