Academy Announces 2007 Student Academy Award® Winners
Beverly Hills, CA(rushprnews) May 17, 2007 – Eleven students from six colleges and universities have been named winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 34th Annual Student Academy Awards® competition. They will participate in a week of industry-related activities and social events, culminating in the awards ceremony on June 9 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

One film student from Germany also has been selected to receive this year’s Honorary Foreign Film award.
The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title within category):
Alternative
“Fission,” Kun-I Chang, School of Visual Arts, New York
Animation
“Art’s Desire,” Sarah Wickliffe, New York University
“A Leg Up,” Bevin Carnes, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida
“Mirage,” Youngwoong Jang, School of Visual Arts, New York
Documentary
“Cross Your Eyes Keep Them Wide,” Ben Wu, Stanford University
“Ladies of the Land,” Megan Thompson, New York University
“Lumo,” Bent-Jorgen S. Perlmutt and Nelson Walker, III, Columbia University
Narrative
“High Maintenance,” Phillip Van, New York University
“Rundown,” Patrick Alexander, Florida State University
“Screening,” Anthony Green, New York University
Honorary Foreign Film
“Nevermore,” Toke Constantin Hebbeln, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
While the U.S. winners know they will each receive an award, the level of that award – Gold, Silver or Bronze – will not be revealed until the June 9 ceremony. Only Chang, the sole recipient in the Alternative category and therefore and automatic Gold Medal award winner and Hebbeln will attend the ceremony knowing exactly what they have won. Besides trophies, Gold Medal recipients receive $5,000, Silver Medal recipients are awarded $3,000 and Bronze Medal recipients are awarded $2,000. The Honorary Foreign Film winner receives $1,000 in addition to the trophy.
The U.S. student first competed in one of three regional competitions. Each of those regions was permitted to send as many as three finalists in each of the four award categories. Academy members then screened the finalists’ films and voted to select the winners.
“Nevermore,” the Honorary Foreign Film winner was selected from a record pool of 49 submissions from 33 countries.
The Student Academy Awards were established by the Academy in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Among past winners who have gone onto prominent careers as filmmakers are Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, John Lasseter and Trey Parker. Last year, two former Student Academy Award winners received Oscar® nominations: Lasseter received his fifth nomination for the animated feature “Cars;” and James Longley earned his first nomination for the documentary feature “Iraq in Fragments.” Over the years, former Student Academy Award winners have garnered a total of 35 Oscar nominations and have won or shared seven awards.
Tickets for the 34th Student Academy Awards presentation ceremony, at which the Gold Medal-winning films will be screened in their entirety along with the Honorary Foreign Film, are free and available now. To request a maximum of four tickets, call the Academy at (310) 247-3000, ext. 130. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 9, at 6 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000 | www.oscars.org | publicity@oscars.org
CONTACT: Tarrah Lee Curtis – (310) 247-3090
tcurtis@oscars.org

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Anne Howard www.annehowardpublicist.com writer and publicist