June 13, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000
                         lunger@oscars.org

2005 Student Academy Award Winners Honored in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, CA — Twelve students from 11 different colleges and universities were honored last night (June 12) as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 32nd annual Student Academy Awards competition. They had participated in a week of industry-related activities and social events culminating with the awards presentation ceremony at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. One film student from Germany also was selected to receive this year's Honorary Foreign Film Student Award.

The winners are:

Alternative
Gold Medal: “Knock Knock,” Jaron Henrie-McCrea, Ball State University, Indiana
Silver Medal: “Your Dark Hair Ihsan,” Tala Hadid, Columbia University, New York City
(No Bronze Medal was awarded in this category this year.)

Animation
Gold Medal: “9,” Shane Acker, University of California, Los Angeles
Silver Medal: “Frog,” Christopher Conforti, School of Visual Arts, New York City
Bronze Medal: “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” Joshua G. Beveridge, Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida

Documentary
Gold Medal: “The Life of Kevin Carter,” Dan Krauss, University of California, Berkeley
Silver Medal: “Unhitched,” Erin Hudson and Ben Wu, Stanford University
Bronze Medal: “Listen,” Kimby Caplan, Southern Methodist University, Texas

Narrative
Gold Medal: “Wednesday Afternoon,” Alonso F. Mayo, American Film Institute, Los Angeles
Silver Medal: “Victoria Para Chino,” Cary Fukunaga, New York University
Bronze Medal: “Charm,” Melissa Rossi, Florida State University Film School

Honorary Foreign Student Film Award
“The Runaway,” Ulrike Grote, University of Hamburg

While the U.S. students knew they would each receive an award, the level of that award – gold, silver or bronze – was not revealed until the ceremony. Besides trophies, gold medalists receive $5,000, silver medalists are awarded $3,000 and bronze medal recipients are presented with $2,000.

Cinematographers Caleb Deschanel, a five-time Oscar nominee (“The Passion of the Christ,” “The Patriot,” “Fly Away Home,” “The Natural,” “The Right Stuff”), and Karl Walter Lindenlaub (whose credits include “The Princess Diaries,” “The Haunting,” “Independence Day” and “Stargate”) served as presenters, as did June Foray, chair of the Student Academy Awards Executive Committee. Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis hosted the evening.

The American students first competed in one of three regional competitions. Each of those regions was permitted to send to the Academy as many as three films in each of the four categories as finalists. Academy members then screened the films and voted to select the winners.

The Honorary Foreign Film winner was selected from an original pool of 38 submissions from 25 countries. This is the eighth time that a student film from Germany has won this particular award and the second award for the University of Hamburg.

The Student Academy Awards were established by the Academy in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.

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