On November 6, DGA members and their guests attended a ceremony for the 20th Annual DGA Student Film Awards. Held at the Guild’s Theater complex in Los Angeles, these Awards are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to outstanding African American, Asian American, Latino and Women Filmmakers in film schools and select universities across the country.
The 2014 West Coast awards ceremony began with a welcome message from DGA Student Film Awards Committee Chair Gil Cates, Jr. Director Carl Weathers served as the evening’s voice-over announcer, introducing the presenters and winners.
After a screening of clips from the jury prize winning short films, Cates presented the certificates of achievement to Latino Jury Award recipient Melanie D’Andrea of USC for South Arcadia St., Women’s Jury Award recipient Jean Barker of Chapman University for One More Day, African American Jury Award recipient Stephanie Hoston of California State University, Northridge for Diana Leigh, and Asian American Jury Award recipient Yoonhee Ye of AFI for MUSH.
Cates then called DGA Past President Gene Reynolds to the stage for a surprise presentation of a special gift commemorating the 20th anniversary of the program founded when Reynolds was President of the Guild.
After a screening of the winning short film Pasaporte, Director Félix Alcalá presented the Latino Student Filmmaker Award to Maicon Desouza of USC. Director Katy Garretson presented the award to Women Student Filmmaker Award-winner Shayna Cohen of Chapman University after a screening of her film Gefilte Fish. African American Student Filmmaker Award-winner Adam Tyree of USC was presented with his trophy by Director Carl Franklin following a screening of Tyree's film Without You. The final presentation of the evening was made by Actor Parvesh Cheena to Asian American Student Filmmaker Award-winner Yoko Okumura of AFI following a screening of her film Kimi Kabuki.
The winners of each category received a prize of $2,500 from the DGA along with a product grant valued at $1,000 provided by Kodak’s Worldwide Student Film Program. The winners were selected by blue ribbon panels comprised of DGA members.
DGA Student Film Awards rules and procedures mandate that competing films must have been made in the 2013/2014 school year (September 2013 through August 2014), 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.
- Click here for more information about the DGA Student Film Awards