The DGA today announced the winners of its 28th annual DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino & Women directors. The awards were created in 1995 “to address the severe underrepresentation of directors of color and women in feature filmmaking by honoring, encouraging and bringing attention to exceptional diverse directors in film schools and universities across the country.”
Student filmmakers at USC received seven of the 10 awards handed out in the western region – more than those at any other school in the country. The awards ceremonies and screenings will be held at the DGA’s theater in New York today and in Los Angeles tomorrow.
“We are proud to see the high caliber of diverse talent emerging from the 28th Annual DGA Student Film Awards,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter. “As we are committed to promoting inclusion in our industry, this program consistently draws a wide swath of submissions from a broad spectrum of filmmakers. Although much has positively changed in the industry since these Awards were first created in 1995 by the DGA’s National Board, the statistics today for feature filmmakers who are women and people of color leave significant room for improvement.
“We are proud of the many previous student director winners like Ryan Coogler, Patricia Riggen, and John Chu who have gone on to feature film success. And with our new inaugural Documentary Award, we feel the work holds an even bigger mirror to the experiences and storytelling of these talented student filmmakers. Our congratulations to this extraordinary group of honorees and best wishes on their future endeavors.”
The 2022 winners, selected by blue ribbon DGA member panels, are:
BEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
Award Winner: Ralph Parker III of University of North Carolina School of the Arts for Sammy, Without Strings
Jury Award: Clarke Phillips of University of North Carolina School of the Arts for Suga Brown
West Region
Award Winner: Christian Kamaal of USC for Blackifier
Jury Award: Danny Rogers of USC for The Fairchild
BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
Award Winner: Minkyu Kang of Columbia University for Children of Light
Jury Award: Maryam Mir of New York University for Sweet Refuge
West Region
Award Winner: Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda of The University of Texas at Austin for Men in Blue
Jury Award: Andy Yi Li of USC for After Sunset, Dawn Arrives
BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
Award Winner: Anthony Fins of Florida State University for Mi Hija
Jury Award: Vyky Saiz of Florida State University for Our Terminal
West Region
Award Winner: Nicole Chi Amén of The University of Texas at Austin for Comadre
Jury Award: César Velasco of Chapman University for A Song of the Land
BEST WOMEN STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
Award Winner: Gonnie Zur of School of Visual Arts for Lemons
Jury Award: Lensa Jeudy of Florida State University for Dream City
West Region
Award Winner: McKenzi Vanderberg of USC for Morse Code
Jury Award: Diya Correa of USC for The First Day of Being Black
BEST DOCUMENTARY STUDENT FILMMAKERS
East Region
Award Winner: Tayton Troidl of Rochester Institute of Technology for A Life in Boxes
Jury Award: Kainoa Presbitero of City College of New York (CUNY) for A Hui Hou (Until We Meet Again)
West Region
Award Winner: Kelsey McGee of USC for Danceable
Jury Award: Guillermo Casarín De la Cabada of USC for Bad Hombrewood
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