BAFTA Announces 2019 Student Film Awards Finalists

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the nine finalists for the 2019 BAFTA Student Film Awards presented by Global Student Accommodation (GSA). Following a record number of submissions for this year's Awards, the finalists have been selected from over 550 submissions by students at film schools in 38 countries across the world, including the U.K., the U.S., France, Germany, Australia, China, Switzerland, Estonia, Brazil, Norway, Mexico, Israel, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Chile, Uruguay, Finland, The Netherlands, Portugal and more.

"We are proud that this year's selection is perhaps our most diverse and dynamic selection of films and filmmakers to date. Taken together, these films represent an inspiring glimpse at the future of filmmaking, with bold and original takes on the issues of our time," said BAFTA New Talent Committee Co-Chairs Peter Morris, Sandro Monetti and Louise Chater. "We are excited to celebrate the filmmakers' achievements at our finals event on July 9."

Returning as the Presenting Partner of the BAFTA Student Film Awards is Global Student Accommodation (GSA) Group, who have expanded their commitment by creating a commissioning grant for student projects on the topic of mental health and wellbeing. For the first time, Netflix will be sponsoring the BAFTA Student Film Awards, as they continue to support BAFTA's worldwide initiatives, including the BAFTA Breakthrough Brits program, championing the next generation of creative talent across film, games and television in the U.K. and internationally.

Film schools worldwide were invited to submit up to nine films for consideration for four top prizes - the BAFTA Student Film Award for Animation, the BAFTA 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.

These finalists were chosen from within the previously announced 60 shortlisted films. BAFTA programmed a series of special networking and educational events for the shortlisted filmmakers in Los Angeles and New York. The BAFTA Student Film Awards has been identifying and rewarding international student filmmakers for three years. Before that, it was a local competition, and past finalists and winners have included Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther," "Creed"), Sharat Raju ("Scandal," "Fear the Walking Dead") and Annie Silverstein, whose feature "Bull" just premiered at Cannes.

The program is an important component of 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.

The finalist films are (listed alphabetically by film title with director names):

FOR ANIMATION

Apart

Diana Cam Van Nguyen

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic

Hors Piste

Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet

École des Nouvelles Images, France

The Ostrich Politic

Mohamad Houhou

Gobelins, l'école de l'image, France

FOR DOCUMENTARY

Family2

Yifan Sun

The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz, Poland

Guanajuato Norte

Ingrid Holmquist, Sana Malik

Columbia University, USA

We Are All Here

Hannah Currie

Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

FOR LIVE ACTION

Dog Eat Dog

Rikke Gregersen

Kristiania University College, Norway

Esta Es Tu Cuba

Brian Robau

Chapman University, USA

Miller & Son

Asher Jelinsky

American Film Institute, USA

Special Jury members will be announced in the coming weeks.

In 2018, the BAFTA Student Film Award for Animation presented by LAIKA was awarded to Beth David and Esteban Bravo from Ringling College of Art and Design for "In a Heartbeat." TheBAFTA Student Film Award for Documentary was awarded to Lindsey Parietti from the University of the West of England, U.K. for "Blood Island," while the BAFTA Student Film Award for Live Action was awarded to Kevin Wilson Jr. from New York University for "My Nephew Emmett." The Special Jury Prize was presented to Lucia Bulgheroni from National Film and Television School, U.K. for "Inanimate." The panel of industry luminaries included Amy Adrion (Half the Picture), Jen McGowan (Kelly & Cal, Rust Creek), Justin Simien (Dear White People), Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Cool Runnings), Kim Yutani (Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival) and writing duo Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais (The Commitments, Flushed Away). The finalists were selected from over 460 films submitted by schools in 35 countries, with each school submitting their best films for consideration.