Student Academy Awards Provide 'Momentum' for Young Filmmakers
2024-02-04
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1While most people know about the Academy Awards in Hollywood - the awards known as the Oscars - few know about the Student Academy Awards.
2But to those who know about the industry, they are a big deal.
3A top-three finish at the Student Academy Awards can lift a young filmmaker's career.
4Freddy Macdonald knows this.
5His short movie, Shedding Angels, placed third in the narrative film category in 2022.
6It was his thesis film after two years of study at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles.
7A thesis is a big project that is needed to complete a study program.
8Just being selected as a finalist was a dream come true, Macdonald said.
9"Having that stamp from the Academy helped give me so much momentum to create my first feature film."
10Macdonald is 23. He said the recognition from the Academy helped launch his career.
11After the award, he said, investors paid more attention to him, and he was able to create excitement for a full-length movie.
12That movie is a longer version of another one of his short films called Sew Torn.
13He directed it when he was 19.
14Sew Torn, he said, tells the story of a seamstress who gets involved in a violent drug deal.
15The full-length movie will be shown at film festivals this year and Macdonald hopes it will be shown in theaters sometime in the near future.
16Macdonald could be one of the more recent filmmakers to go on to a successful career in Hollywood after receiving a student award from the Academy.
17The awards program celebrated its 50th year in 2023.
18Some of the past winners include Spike Lee, known for his movies, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, He Got Game and others.
19Lee won an Oscar in 2019 for BlacKkKlansman.
20Lee won his student award in 1983 when he was studying at New York University (NYU).
21His film was Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.
22Other student winners include Robert Zemeckis, who won an Oscar for directing Forrest Gump in 1994.
23Pete Docter won a student award, too.
24He later earned Oscars for his animated films Up, Inside Out and Soul.
25Kendra Carter is a Vice President at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which runs both awards programs.
26She said the Academy hopes to open the film industry to people from many different backgrounds and "create a pool of highly skilled, diverse talent."
27In 2023, 640 members of the Academy voted on the awards, which means the student work was seen by hundreds of people in Hollywood.
28In addition to the award, many students come away from the event with a business agent who can help them get more work.
29But that's not all. The gold-medal winners can choose to have their work submitted for the Academy Awards.
30Last year, an animated short film by a student from Australia, An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It, was considered for an Oscar.
31"Once your name is tied to a Student Academy Award, it just opens all of these doors," the Academy's Carter said.
32"It's so transformative for emerging filmmakers."
33The program is now open to young filmmakers from around the world. Giorgio Ghiotto of Italy is a student at NYU.
34He won the gold medal in October for his documentary short film Wings of Dust.
35"Everyone thinks it's impossible to be a documentary filmmaker unless you're rich, or super lucky," Ghiotto said.
36He called his success "an impossible dream."
37Macdonald said the opportunity to compete with student filmmakers from around the world was both "extremely daunting and exciting."
38He said it was a great experience to go to the awards ceremony and meet so many creative people from around the world.
39He would not have gotten that experience without going to film school.
40Macdonald said he thought about going to an undergraduate film program first.
41"And then towards the end of high school, kind of, I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, but the big question came what college am I gonna go to? Where should I be applying? And so, I started looking at all the different paths in terms of film school and the American Film Institute always jumped off the page to me...But I didn't think that would be a possibility because it is a graduate program, and I was applying as a high school senior."
42Macdonald applied and was the youngest person ever accepted into the directing program.
43He was qualified because by then, he had already made a short film and done other directing jobs.
44But because he did not have a college degree, AFI gave him a "certificate of completion" at the end.
45While in school, he learned more about the business side of filmmaking than he expected.
46He learned how to write a proposal that aimed to make investors excited to finance a film.
47"And that was really helpful for me to kind of wrap my head around the different ways you can make movies."
48Before being nominated for a Student Academy Award, Macdonald had everything he needed to enter the film industry.
49He had strong experience before attending AFI.
50He learned even more in school.
51He even got attention from some film studios.
52But the Student Academy Award experience gave him something more.
53It gave him the sense that other people believed in what he was doing.
54"The Academy recognizing it (my film) really gave me belief in myself that the stories that I want to tell are worth telling and that I should keep pursuing them."
55The lesson, Macdonald added, was that the Academy liked his work and he, in his words, "should keep fighting to make movies."
56I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1While most people know about the Academy Awards in Hollywood - the awards known as the Oscars - few know about the Student Academy Awards. 2But to those who know about the industry, they are a big deal. 3A top-three finish at the Student Academy Awards can lift a young filmmaker's career. 4Freddy Macdonald knows this. 5His short movie, Shedding Angels, placed third in the narrative film category in 2022. It was his thesis film after two years of study at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. A thesis is a big project that is needed to complete a study program. 6Just being selected as a finalist was a dream come true, Macdonald said. 7"Having that stamp from the Academy helped give me so much momentum to create my first feature film." 8Macdonald is 23. He said the recognition from the Academy helped launch his career. After the award, he said, investors paid more attention to him, and he was able to create excitement for a full-length movie. 9That movie is a longer version of another one of his short films called Sew Torn. He directed it when he was 19. 10Sew Torn, he said, tells the story of a seamstress who gets involved in a violent drug deal. 11The full-length movie will be shown at film festivals this year and Macdonald hopes it will be shown in theaters sometime in the near future. 12History of success 13Macdonald could be one of the more recent filmmakers to go on to a successful career in Hollywood after receiving a student award from the Academy. 14The awards program celebrated its 50th year in 2023. Some of the past winners include Spike Lee, known for his movies, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, He Got Game and others. Lee won an Oscar in 2019 for BlacKkKlansman. 15Lee won his student award in 1983 when he was studying at New York University (NYU). His film was Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads. 16Other student winners include Robert Zemeckis, who won an Oscar for directing Forrest Gump in 1994. Pete Docter won a student award, too. He later earned Oscars for his animated films Up, Inside Out and Soul. 17Kendra Carter is a Vice President at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which runs both awards programs. She said the Academy hopes to open the film industry to people from many different backgrounds and "create a pool of highly skilled, diverse talent." 18Serious exposure 19In 2023, 640 members of the Academy voted on the awards, which means the student work was seen by hundreds of people in Hollywood. In addition to the award, many students come away from the event with a business agent who can help them get more work. 20But that's not all. The gold-medal winners can choose to have their work submitted for the Academy Awards. Last year, an animated short film by a student from Australia, An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It, was considered for an Oscar. 21"Once your name is tied to a Student Academy Award, it just opens all of these doors," the Academy's Carter said. "It's so transformative for emerging filmmakers." 22The program is now open to young filmmakers from around the world. Giorgio Ghiotto of Italy is a student at NYU. He won the gold medal in October for his documentary short film Wings of Dust. 23"Everyone thinks it's impossible to be a documentary filmmaker unless you're rich, or super lucky," Ghiotto said. He called his success "an impossible dream." 24Macdonald said the opportunity to compete with student filmmakers from around the world was both "extremely daunting and exciting." He said it was a great experience to go to the awards ceremony and meet so many creative people from around the world. 25School experience 26He would not have gotten that experience without going to film school. Macdonald said he thought about going to an undergraduate film program first. 27"And then towards the end of high school, kind of, I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, but the big question came what college am I gonna go to? Where should I be applying? And so, I started looking at all the different paths in terms of film school and the American Film Institute always jumped off the page to me...But I didn't think that would be a possibility because it is a graduate program, and I was applying as a high school senior." 28Macdonald applied and was the youngest person ever accepted into the directing program. He was qualified because by then, he had already made a short film and done other directing jobs. But because he did not have a college degree, AFI gave him a "certificate of completion" at the end. 29While in school, he learned more about the business side of filmmaking than he expected. He learned how to write a proposal that aimed to make investors excited to finance a film. 30"And that was really helpful for me to kind of wrap my head around the different ways you can make movies." 31'An honor' 32Before being nominated for a Student Academy Award, Macdonald had everything he needed to enter the film industry. He had strong experience before attending AFI. He learned even more in school. He even got attention from some film studios. But the Student Academy Award experience gave him something more. It gave him the sense that other people believed in what he was doing. 33"The Academy recognizing it (my film) really gave me belief in myself that the stories that I want to tell are worth telling and that I should keep pursuing them." 34The lesson, Macdonald added, was that the Academy liked his work and he, in his words, "should keep fighting to make movies." 35I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins. 36Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press and his interview with Macdonald. 37_________________________________________________ 38Words in This Story 39career -n. a job or profession that a person has for a long time 40narrative -adj. telling a story 41stamp -n. a mark of approval 42momentum -n. a push that continues movement into the future 43seamstress -n. a woman who sews or repairs clothing 44animated -adj. involving moving pictures or cartoons rather than live-action film 45diverse -adj. involving many different examples of something 46transformative -adj. causing complete change 47emerging -adj. just beginning to develop into something fully 48pursue -v. to chase, follow or simply continue doing something 49We want to hear from you. Do you know any student filmmakers? Send us a link to their work.