BAFTA Announces Shortlist For International Student Film Awards

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, theBAFTA 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 honored to support such high caliber 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

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 and 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

Outrun the Night

Sophia Orner-Thompson

Columbia College Chicago, USA

Police

Ed Smith

National Film and Television School, U.K.

Ready For a Baby

Anastasia Dyakova

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 Clouds

Kate?ina 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 35 MM

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

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 and 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 Neighborhood

Jean Pesce

New York University, USA

Sol de Agosto

Franco Volpi

London Film School, U.K.

The Ias 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

Christ 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

310-854-8149

CStegner@RogersandCowan.com

About BAFTA and BAFTA Los Angeles

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts 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 programme of learning events and initiatives - featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes - in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world's most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. To access the best creative minds in film, TV and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

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/losangeles

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.

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