IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival Finalists Announced

IES Abroad, the leading study abroad program provider, announced its Study Abroad Film Festival finalists today.

IES Abroad's Study Abroad Film Festival showcases the spirit of study abroad directed and/or produced by IES Abroad students. Film Festival entrants were limited to 25 minutes or less to capture their study abroad story and how the experience redefined them.

The 2 nd annual IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival welcomed 45 submissions, which were narrowed down to 19 semi-finalists, and then three finalists. The jury, which includes film experts, faculty, as well as an Oscar-nominated IES Abroad alumnus, Willard Huyck, evaluated submissions based on capturing the spirit of study abroad, production quality, entertainment value, and originality.

The first place Study Abroad Film Festival winner will receive $1,000 and an invitation to screen their film at the IES Abroad Annual Conference in Chicago, IL this October. The second place film winner will receive $500.

"I can't think of anything more powerful than film to capture the spirit of study abroad," said Amy Ruhter McMillan, Associate Vice President of Marketing at IES Abroad, who launched the Film Festival last year. "No other medium can make you laugh, cry, or feel inspired by the world of study abroad in the same way. We are in awe of the films our students are submitting."

The three finalist films are:

• Abroad Sweet Abroad" by Adrienne Picciotto, IES Abroad Rome, Mount Holyoke College
• "Bringing Light to Egoli" by Larisa Manescu, IES Abroad & UT-Austin Customized Program: Community & Social Development, University of Texas at Austin
• "It's Okay" by Kyle Rodriguez, IES Abroad Buenos Aires, Occidental College

Voting on the finalist's films will go live on IES Abroad's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IESabroad) starting Tuesday, September 1, 2015 and will close Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 12 noon CDT.

More information about IES Abroad's Study Abroad Film Festival can be found at: http://www.IESabroad.org/FilmFestival

About IES Abroad

IES Abroad is a global, not-for-profit academic consortium that offers over 125 study abroad programs, in over 34 international locations, to some 6,000 U.S. college students annually. Founded in 1950, IES Abroad is a leader in the field of education abroad programming and has over 220 prestigious U.S. college and university affiliates as a part of its consortium. Learn more at www.IESabroad.org.

For further information please contact: Ashley Houston, IES Abroad, 800.995.2300, ahouston@IESabroad.org

SOURCE IES Abroad