Film academy honours 16 young filmmakers, paves a way to Oscars

It was a dream come true for 16 student filmmakers who were honored with Student Academy Awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in Beverly Hills on Thursday. Not only that, they are also eligible to compete in the 2020 Academy Awards. That's the power of the Student Academy Awards, an event that is now in its 46th year. 

An emotional night

It was an emotional night for many as they uttered the words, “I would like to thank the academy” on stage. Kalee McCollaum, a student of Brigham Young University was on cloud nine as she accepted two giant Oscar statuettes in the Samuel L. Goldwyn theater and a gold medal for animation for her short, "Grendel." "I never thought those words would come out of my mouth," she said.

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Winners are now eligible for animated short, live-action short and documentary short categories at the Oscars.

The prestigious awards were presented by famous Hollywood directors, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller, who co-directed "The Lego Movie".

As per tradition, the winners will join an esteemed list of past Student Academy Award winners like Pete Docter, Cary Fukunaga, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen, and Robert Zemeckis. 

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Director of "Queen & Slim" Melina Matsoukas, who presented the narrative awards, mentioned how she used to joke about the fact that she was never invited for the awards when she was a film student. However, a highlight reel of the projects had made her realize why the awards were incredible, she added.

Zoel Aeschbacher, of Switzerland, took the gold prize in the international narrative category for his drama, "Bonobo," about how a broken elevator affects the residents of a public housing unit. 

While addressing the audience, Zoel said that the award was unexpected and he bought a special suit for the event, as most of his clothes are casual. Princess Garrett, of Villanova University, who won for her documentary short, "Sankofa," which is about the loss of African identity in black males, gave a spirited speech alongside her large crew.

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Approximately 1,615 entries from 360 colleges and universities across the globe were made. The films were categorized under narrative, documentary, animated and alternative/experimental productions by American and international college students. Winners are voted by members of the film academy. This year, a record 752 members participated in the event. 

The 2019 Student Academy Award winners:

— "Patron Saint," Georden West, Emerson College

— "Game Changer," Aviv Mano, Ringling College of Art and Design

— "Grendel," Kalee McCollaum, Brigham Young University

— "Two," Emre Okten, University of Southern California

— "Daughter," Daria Kashcheeva, Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague

— "All That Remains," Eva Rendle, University of California, Berkeley

— "Sankofa," Princess Garrett, Villanova University

— "Something to Say," Abby Lieberman and Joshua Lucas, Columbia University

— "Family," Yifan Sun, The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School, Lodz

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