By The TimesLedger
The New York finals for the 29th Annual Student Academy Awards were held at the American Museum of the Moving Image April 21. Following screenings at the museum, finalists in the competition’s four categories, Narrative, Documentary, Animation, and Alternative films, eight were selected to advance to the national finals of the prestigious competition, which is run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The museum is the regional coordinator for the competition.
The eight winning films, which will now advance to the national finals to be held in Los Angeles later this month, are:
Narrative
“Slo-Mo,” by John Krokidas, New York University; “Train Wreck, by Michael Sedlacek, Columbia University; and “The Wormhole,” by Jessica Sharzer, New York University.
Animation
“Trilemma,” by Ye Won Cho, School of Visual Arts, and “Shadow Play,” by Dan Blank, New York University.
Alternative
“From Island to Island,” by Soopum Sohn, New York University and “For Our Man,” by Kazuo Ohno, Columbia University.
Documentary
“Family Values,” by Eva Saks, New York University.
The competition was open to full-time students in accredited U.S. colleges. This year, 94 films were entered in Region 3, which covers New York State and Puerto Rico.
Winners for the Alternative, Animation, and Documentary categories were selected by a panel of judges including filmmaker Kelly Anderson; David Callahan, the senior film/video librarian at the Donnell Media Center of the New York Public Library; Noah Cowan, co-founder of Cowboy Pictures; animator George Griffin; Lynda A. Hansen of Lynda A. Hansen & Associates; and Maria-Christina Villasenor, associate curator of film and media arts at the Guggenheim Museum.
The winners for the finals were chosen in secret balloting by Academy members. Rob Marshall, director of the upcoming film version of “Chicago,” presided over the awards ceremony at the museum and presented certificates to the winners.
Student Academy Awards New York finalists in the narrative category, Michael Sedlacek, Jessica Sharzer, and John Krokidas (l. to r.) stand with Academy representative Rob Marshall at the American Museum of the Moving Image on April 21.
