60 films selected out of over 460 submissions from 35 countries following international expansion of the Awards
Gala ceremony to take place Friday, June 29 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the shortlist for the 2018 BAFTA Student Film Awards. Following the international expansion of the Awards in 2017, this year’s shortlisted 60 films have been selected from the 469 submissions by students at film schools in 35 countries across the world, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
This expansion has generated a major increase in the volume of applications received. This year, 111 schools submitted films with 43 first time submissions. In 2017, BAFTA received submissions from 15 countries, while this year, the reach has expanded to 35 countries.
Film schools worldwide were invited to submit up to nine films for consideration for four top prizes – the BAFTA Student Film Award for Animation, the BAFTA Student Film Award for Documentary, the BAFTA Student Film Award for Live Action Film, and the Special Jury Prize, selected by the event’s panel members.
BAFTA’s Student Film Awards competition was expanded as part of BAFTA’s growing international footprint, which seeks to foster strong talent connections across the U.K., U.S. and Asia. The expansion also furthers BAFTA Los Angeles’ work within its Access for All campaign, a commitment to ensuring that talented individuals are offered a clear pathway to careers in the entertainment industry, uninhibited by background, demographics or personal circumstance. The campaign will drive funds towards BAFTA Los Angeles’ acclaimed scholarship, education and community initiatives, allowing the organization to discover, support and nurture talented professionals.
“Through its global connections, BAFTA is committed to providing opportunities for creative talent to artistically express themselves,” said BAFTA LA CEO, Chantal Rickards. “We are honoured to support such high calibre talent for our Student Film Awards.”
“The future of film is in excellent hands. The BAFTA Student Film Awards have, in recent years, been one of the first opportunities to catch rising stars like Ryan Coogler. We have little doubt that, among this year's Shortlist, are some more filmmaking stars of the future,” said Sandro Monetti and Peter Morris, Co-Chairs of the BAFTA Los Angeles New Talent Committee.
The shortlisted films are (listed alphabetically by film title with director names):
ANIMATION
A PRIORI - Maïté Schmitt / Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg / Germany
AUGENBLICKE - Kiana Naghshineh / Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg / Germany
CHICKEN STRIPS - Chloe Bestward / Columbia College Chicago, USA
FIFTY-TWO - Brodie Stephenson / Griffith University / Australia
HIM AND HER - Nathalie Lamb / Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg / Germany
I THINK I LOVE YOU - Xiya Lan / California Institute of the Arts / USA
IN A HEARTBEAT - Beth David, Esteban Bravo / Ringling College of Art and Design / USA
INANIMATE - Lucia Bulgheroni / National Film and Television School / U.K.
MASCARPONE - Jonas Riemer / Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf / Germany
MONSTERS DON'T EXIST - Ilaria Angelini, Luca Barberis Organista, Nicola Bernardi / Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti / Italy
NEW NEIGHBOURS - Andrea Mannino, Sara Burgio, Giacomo Rinaldi / Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Piemonte, Dip.to Animazione / Italy
POLICE - Ed Smith/ National Film and Television School / U.K.
READY FOR A BABY - Anastasia Dyakova / VCA Film and Television - The University of Melbourne / Australia
SISTER - Siqi Song / California Institute of the Arts / USA
SUPERNOVA - Gavin Lankford, Alexsandre C. Kosinski / University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking / USA
THE FRUITS OF THE CLOUDS - Kateřina Karhanková / FAMU - Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague / Czech Republic
THE OTHER (INNY) - Marta Magnuska / The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School / Poland
THE SECRET LIFE OF ART - Catherine Mosier-Mills / The Claremont Colleges / USA
THIN DUST - Alessandra Boatto, Gloria Cianci, Sofia Zanonato / Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Piemonte, Dip.to Animazione / Italy
VERGE - Ching Tien Chu / School of Visual Arts / USA
DOCUMENTARY
BLOOD ISLAND - Lindsey Parietti / University of the West of England / U.K.
CIRCLE - Jayisha Patel / National Film and Television School / U.K.
FAITHFUL - Dane Christensen / Stanford University / USA
FINDING HOME: ELAHEH - Abraham Troen / University of Southern California / USA
HALE - Brad Bailey / UC Berkeley / USA
HAMAMA & CALUNA - Andreas Muggli / Lucerne School of Art and Design / Switzerland
HEROIN HEARSE - Ryan Buckley / Columbia College Chicago / USA
IN THIS FAMILY - Drama Del Rosario / New York Film Academy / USA
KATONG GABII (THAT NIGHT) - Jeremy Luke Bolatag/ UP Film Institute / Philippines
LOVE IN 35MM - Federica Gargarella / Goldsmiths / U.K.
NESTING WITH THE DEVIL - Stephen Matter / University of the West of England / U.K.
PALENQUE - Sebastian Pinzon / Northwestern University / USA
PEACEKEEPER - Tyler Knutt, Nicholas Markart / Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts / USA
RUDEL - Simon Ostermann / Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf / Germany
TAKING SOMEONE TO SOMEONE - Shing Hei Ho / VCA Film and Television - The University of Melbourne / Australia
THE FIREFOX GUARDIAN - Gunjan Menon / University of the West of England / U.K.
THE SHIFT - Paloma Martinez, Elivia Shaw / Stanford University / USA
THE WHALE BOWL (LOLITA'S STORY) - Emily George / University of Greenwich / U.K.
THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET - Jeanine Fiser / Loyola Marymount University / USA
WE ARE DATA - Moritz Müller-Preisser, Franziska Brozio / University of Television and Film Munich / Germany
LIVE ACTION
BIRTHRIGHT - Mauritz Brekke Solberg, Daniel Fure Schwarz / Kristiania University College / Norway
BLOOD AND WATER - Brian Blum / New York University / USA
FIFO - Sacha Ferbus / Institut des Arts de Diffusion / Belgium
HURRIA - Travis Rush / University of Southern California / USA
JUNE - Huay-Bing Law / The University of Texas at Austin / USA
MY NEPHEW EMMETT - Kevin Wilson / New York University / USA
NADA - Adel Ahmed Yehia / The High Institute of Cinema / Egypt
NUNDALSDRAPET - Ola Moen / Kristiania University College / Norway
ONE SMALL STEP - Aqsa Altaf / University of Southern California / USA
SKIN - Nancy Camaldo / University of Television and Film Munich / Germany
SO YOU LIKE THE NEIGHBOURHOOD - Jean Pesce / New York University / USA
SOL DE AGOSTO - Franco Volpi / London Film School / U.K.
THE LAST ROMANTIC - Natalia Agraz / Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica / Mexico
THE MOON AND THE NIGHT - Erin Lau / Chapman University / USA
THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT - Cyril Aris / Columbia University / USA
TRISTAN - Sonam Larcin / Institut des Arts de Diffusion / Belgium
WHAT REMAINS - Areej Mahmoud / Columbia College Chicago / USA
WHAT WE LOSE - Jakob Mørk / European Film College / Denmark
WORDS AND LIGHTS - Karel Malkoun / Notre Dame University – Louaize / Lebanon
WYRM - Christopher Winterbauer / University of Southern California / USA
The gala ceremony will take place on Friday, June 29, 2018 at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Finalists and Special Jury members will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the event are now available here.
Leading up to the 2018 Student Film Awards, BAFTA will host a series of programs and events in Los Angeles, New York and London from May 14 – 17.
In 2017, the first-ever BAFTA Student Film Award for Animation presented by LAIKA resulted in a tie between Alicia Jasina from USC for Once Upon a Line and Kal Athannassov, John McDonald and Echo Wu from the Ringling College of Art & Design for The Wishgranter. The BAFTA Student Film Award for Live Action was presented to Jimmy Keyrouz from Columbia University for Nocturne in Black, while both the BAFTA Student Film Award for Documentary and the Special Jury Prize were awarded to Daphne Matziaraki from UC Berkley for 4.1 Miles. The panel of industry notables included BAFTA® and Oscar® nominated directors Ron Clements and John Musker (Moana, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog), Oscar® nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, BAFTA® winning actor Ioan Gruffudd (Wales), Emmy® nominated director/producer David Gelb (Chef’s Table), and BAFTA® nominated editor Joan Sobel (Nocturnal Animals). The finalists were selected from over 400 films submitted by schools in 15 countries, with each school submitting their best films for consideration.
For further information:
Caroline Stegner at Rogers & Cowan
T: 310-854-8149
E: [email protected]
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round, international programme of learning events and initiatives that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York.
BAFTA Los Angeles serves as a bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities. Its commitment to professional and community education is at the heart of all activity, including an inner-city outreach programme, screenings, seminars, Behind Closed Doors series, Q&As, scholarships for British students studying in the US, and a Heritage Archive project, which preserves in-depth interviews with the industry's leading talents for future generations. BAFTA Los Angeles celebrates and promotes excellence through its annual Britannia Awards, Awards Season Film and Television Tea Parties and the Student Film Awards. www.bafta.org/los-angeles
About The Theatre at Ace Hotel
The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles is Ace's loving re-animation of the historic United Artists Theater. Built in 1927 for the maverick film studio founded by Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, The Theatre stands as a monument to a group of seminal American artists — modern iconoclasts striking out on their own. Ace’s restoration of this majestic space serves as a singular stage for art, film, dance and creative celebration in the heart of the Broadway Theater District’s vibrant modern renaissance. View all upcoming events at The Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA at theatre.acehotel.com.
