December 14, 2022
Los Angeles, CA – The Directors Guild of America today announced the winners of the 2022 DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women directors. The awards were created 28 years ago by the DGA’s National Board to address the severe underrepresentation of directors of color and women in feature filmmaking by honoring, encouraging and bringing attention to exceptional diverse directors in film schools and universities across the country. This year, the DGA introduced a brand-new Documentary Award to further enable exceptional filmmakers new opportunities.
“We are proud to see the high caliber of diverse talent emerging from the 28th Annual DGA Student Film Awards,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter. “As we are committed to promoting inclusion in our industry, this program consistently draws a wide swath of submissions from a broad spectrum of filmmakers. Although much has positively changed in the industry since these Awards were first created in 1995 by the DGA’s National Board, the statistics today for feature filmmakers who are women and people of color leave significant room for improvement. We are proud of the many previous student director winners like Ryan Coogler, Patricia Riggen, and John Chu who have gone on to feature film success. And with our new inaugural Documentary Award, we feel the work holds an even bigger mirror to the experiences and storytelling of these talented student filmmakers. Our congratulations to this extraordinary group of honorees and best wishes on their future endeavors.”
The 2022 winners, selected by blue ribbon DGA member panels, are:
BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
East Region
- Award Winner: Ralph Parker III of University of North Carolina School of the Arts — Sammy, Without Strings
- Jury Award: Clarke Phillips of University of North Carolina School of the Arts — Suga Brown
West Region
- Award Winner: Christian Kamaal of USC — Blackifier
- Jury Award: Danny Rogers of USC — The Fairchild
BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
East Region
- Award Winner: Minkyu Kang of Columbia University — Children of Light
- Jury Award: Maryam Mir of New York University — Sweet Refuge
West Region
- Award Winner: Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda of The University of Texas at Austin — Men in Blue
- Jury Award: Andy Yi Li of USC — After Sunset, Dawn Arrives
BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
- Award Winner: Anthony Fins of Florida State University — Mi Hija
- Jury Award: Vyky Saiz of Florida State University — Our Terminal
West Region
- Award Winner: Nicole Chi Amén of The University of Texas at Austin — Comadre
- Jury Award: César Velasco of Chapman University — A Song of the Land
BEST WOMEN STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
East Region
- Award Winner: Gonnie Zur of School of Visual Arts — Lemons
- Jury Award: Lensa Jeudy of Florida State University — Dream City
West Region
- Award Winner: McKenzi Vanderberg of USC — Morse Code
- Jury Award: Diya Correa of USC — The First Day of Being Black
BEST DOCUMENTARY STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
East Region
- Award Winner: Tayton Troidl of Rochester Institute of Technology — A Life in Boxes
- Jury Award: Kainoa Presbitero of City College of New York (CUNY) — A Hui Hou (Until We Meet Again)
West Region
- Award Winner: Kelsey McGee of USC — Danceable
- Jury Award: Guillermo Casarín De la Cabada of USC — Bad Hombrewood
The DGA Student Film Awards have highlighted dozens of African American, Asian American, Latino and Women filmmakers over the years. 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 (In the Heights; Home Before Dark; Crazy Rich Asians; Now You See Me 2)
- Ryan Coogler (Black Panther; Creed; Fruitvale Station)
- Rashaad Ernesto Green (Premature; The Chi; Looking for Alaska; Luke Cage)
- Nicole Kassell (Watchmen; Castlerock; Westworld; The Americans)
- Patricia Riggen (Surveillance; Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan; Miracles From Heaven; The 33)
- Sylvain White (The Rookie; Fargo; The Umbrella Academy; Amazing Stories)
Eligible films must be made in the 2021/2022 school year (September 2021 through August 2022), 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 will take place at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. The West Region screenings and ceremony will take place at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 15, 2022.