RIT students finalists in Student Academy Awards

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A. Sue Weisler

Two students in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences’ School of Film and Animation were named finalists in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 39th Annual Student Academy Awards competition.

Two students from Rochester Institute of Technology have been selected as finalists in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 39th Annual Student Academy Awards competition.

Bin Li and Raymond McCarthy Bergeron, both students in RIT’s School of Film and Animation, were named finalists in two separate categories. Li’s film, Terra Cotta Warrior, is recognized in the Alternative category, and Bergeron’s La Lune et le Coq is a finalist in the Animation category.

“We have never had two finalists in the same year, so it terrific recognition for the school as well,” says Malcolm Spaull, chair of the School of Film and Animation. “Our film students put an incredible amount of time and imagination into their work and it is wonderful to see Bin and Ray so highly honored. They are wonderful filmmakers and deserve it.”

The two students were among 35 other students from 20 U.S. colleges and universities that were selected as finalists.

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 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards.

The 39th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony on June 9 is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required. Tickets are available now, online at the Oscars website, in person at the Academy box office, or by mail.