The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted 15 students as winners of the 51st Student Academy Awards competition.
This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received 2,683 entries from 738 colleges and universities worldwide. The 2024 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award® winners as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis.
The Academy announced last month that the presentation ceremony for its annual international student film competition will be held in London this year in partnership with Rolex. Traditionally held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills since its inception, the 51st Student Academy Awards will take place at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London on Monday, October 14, at 7:00 p.m. BST. The ceremony is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required.
The winners are (listed alphabetically by category):
Alternative/Experimental
Akshit Kumar, “bonVoyage pour monVoyage,” National Institute of Design, India
Birdy Wei-Ting Hung, “A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers,” San Francisco State University
Dori Walker, “In Living Memory,” Brown University
Animation
Florian Maurice, Maxime Foltzer & Estelle Bonnardel, “Au Revoir Mon Monde,” MoPA 3D Animation School, France
Kei Kanamori, “Origami,” Digital Hollywood University, Japan
Spencer Baird, “Student Accomplice,” Brigham Young University
Documentary
Rishabh Raj Jain, “A Dream Called Khushi (Happiness),” New York University
Hannah Rafkin, “Keeper,” School of Visual Arts
Aaron Johnson, “The 17%,” Chapman University
Narrative
Pavel Sýkora & Viktor Horák, “The Compatriot,” Filmová Akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku, Czech Republic Jens Kevin Georg, “Crust,” Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Germany
Robin Wang, “Neither Donkey nor Horse,” University of Southern California
First-time honours go to National Institute of Design, Digital Hollywood University and Filmová Akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku.
Gold, silver and bronze placements in the four award categories will be announced at the ceremony. In partnership with the BFI London Film Festival, Student Academy Award winners will have access to panels and networking opportunities. In addition, winners will have exclusive access to Academy members to support their career advancement.
All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for 2024 Oscars® in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film category. Past winners have gone on to receive 67 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared 15 awards.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.
