Academy members will view the finalists’ films at special screenings and vote to select the winners. Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards, along with accompanying cash grants of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively, may be presented in each of four categories: Alternative, Animation, Documentary and Narrative.
Winners will be brought to Los Angeles, along with the international student winners in the Foreign Student Film category, for a week of industry activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 9, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The finalists are:
Alternative
- "Falconer," Micah Robert Barber, University of Texas at Austin
- "In Between Shadows," Tianran Duan, University of Southern California
- "Last Remarks," Umar Riaz, New York University
- "Peace at Home," Avital Epstein, Florida State University
- "The Reality Clock," Amanda Tasse, University of Southern California
- "SiSiSiSiSiSiSiSiSiSiSi," Juan Camilo González, University of Southern California
- "Terra Cotta Warrior," Bin Li, Rochester Institute of Technology
- "Us," Alex Lora, City College of New York
Animation
- "Chocolate Milk," Eliza Kinkz, University of California, Los Angeles
- "Cowboy, Clone, Dust," Matthew Christensen, New York University
- "Eyrie," David Wolter, California Institute of the Arts
- "The Jockstrap Raiders," Mark Nelson, University of California, Los Angeles
- "La Lune et le Coq," Raymond McCarthy Bergeron, Rochester Institute of Technology
- "Lizard and the Ladder," Aaron Bristow, Utah Valley University*
- "My Little Friend," Eric Prah, Ringling College of Art and Design
- "Reviving Redwood," Matt Sullivan, Ringling College of Art and Design
- "Shinobi Blues," Yue Liu, School of Visual Arts
Documentary
- "Dignity Harbor: A Home Away from Homeless," Michael Gualdoni, Lindenwood University*
- "Dying Green," Ellen Tripler, American University
- "Hiro: A Story of Japanese Internment," Keiko Wright, New York University
- "Lost Country," Heather Burky, Art Institute of Jacksonville*
- "Love Hacking," Jenni Nelson, Stanford University
- "Pot Country," Mario Furloni, University of California, Berkeley
- "Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and the Holocaust," Emily Harrold, New York University
- "Smoke Songs," Briar March, Stanford University
- "Why Am I Still Alive," Hanzhang Shen, School of Visual Arts
Narrative
- "Benny," Huay-Bing Law, University of Texas at Austin
- "Contra el Mar," Richard Parkin, University of California, Los Angeles
- "Hatch," Christoph Kuschnig, Columbia University
- "Mr. Bellpond," A. Todd Smith, Brigham Young University
- "Nani," Justin Tipping, American Film Institute
- "Narcocorrido," Ryan Prows, American Film Institute
- "The Recorder Exam," Bora Kim, Columbia University
- "Requited," Madeline Puzzo, Point Park University*
- "Under," Mark Raso, Columbia University
The 39th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required. Tickets are available now, online at www.oscars.org.