BAFTA Announces Commissioning Grant & Receives Record Number of Submissions for 2019 BAFTA Student Film Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the shortlist for the 2019 BAFTA Student Film Awards presented by Global Student Accommodation (GSA). For the first time, BAFTA and GSA will also award a USD 12,000 commissioning grant to student projects on the topic of wellbeing. Those eligible for the grant include those shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards, as well as participants of BAFTA's New Talent Initiatives (Newcomers, Scholars and Alumni).

This year's shortlisted 60 films have been selected from the 568 submissions by students at film schools in 38 countries across the world, including Pakistan, South Korea, Chile, Uruguay, Finland, The Netherlands, Portugal, France and more.

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, theBAFTA Student Film Award for Live Action Film, and the Special Jury Prize, selected by the event's panel members.

"We take immense pride in our unwavering support of emerging student filmmakers from around the globe year-round," said BAFTA LA CEO, Chantal Rickards. "We are delighted that this year, having received a record number of submissions, we will not only be able to recognize students' achievements, but also fund deserving student film projects with the BAFTA-GSA Commissioning Grant. Mental health and wellbeing are continuously misunderstood the world over, and we're confident that the talented young filmmakers on the BAFTA Student Film Awards shortlist will demonstrate highly imaginative, bold and compelling ways of tackling it."

Nicholas Porter, Founder and Chairman, Global Student Accommodation Group (GSA) said, "The conscientious Gen Z continues to wow the world with its political and social awareness, and determination to make our world a better place. Positive mental health and student wellbeing are fundamental in enabling this and future generations to thrive. We hope the USD 12,000 BAFTA-GSA Short Film Commissioning Grant, which will go towards short film projects specifically addressing wellbeing amongst 15-25 year olds, will help raise further awareness of a vital issue. We look forward to supporting those that are awarded the grant and hope they gain invaluable creative and strategic input for their projects from BAFTA."

BAFTA's Student Film Awards competition was expanded in 2017 as part of BAFTA's growing international footprint, which seeks to foster strong talent connections across the U.K., U.S. and across the globe. 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.

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

ANIMATION

Apart

Diana Cam Van Nguyen

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic

Best Friend

Nicholas Olivieri, Yi Shen, Juliana De Lucca, Varun Nair, David Feliu

Gobelins, l'école de l'image, France

Breath

Ji-hyeon Ahn

Korea University of Arts, South Korea

Food Chain

Liis Kokk, Mari Kivi

Estonian Academy of the Arts, Estonia

Forglemmegei

Katarina Lundquist

The Animation Workshop, Denmark

Frank

Cameron Gavinski

University of Southern California, USA

Heatwave

Fokion Xenos

National Film and Television School, UK

Holy Nuns

Anissa Beddiaf, Edwige Bellin du Coteau, Lucile Fillon, Perrine Lemonnier, Zacharia Mekideche, Léa Mouraud, Armelle Roy

ISART Digital, France

Hors De L'eau

Simon Duong-Van-Huyen, Joël Durand, Thibault Leclerq, Valentin Lucas, Andrei Sitari

Gobelins, l'école de l'image, France

Hors Piste

Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet

Ecole des Nouvelles Images, France

Jericho

Sarah Andrews

Pearson College London, UK

Love Me Fear Me

Veronica Solomon

Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Germany

Manen

Thomas Anglade, Maxime Announ, Lucie Dessertine, Estelle Saint-Jours

ArtFX, France

Raccoon And The Light

Hanna Kim

California Institute of the Arts, USA

Roadkill

Leszek Mozga

London College of Communication, UK

Sans Gravité

Charline Parisot, Jérémy Cissé, Fioretta Caterina Cosmidis, Flore Allier-Estrada, Maud Lemaître-Blanchart, Ludovic Abraham

Superinfocom Rubika, France

The Ostrich Politic

Mohamad Houhou

Gobelins, l'école de l'image, France

The Stained Club

Mélanie Lopez, Simon Boucly, Marie Ciesielski, Alice Jaunet, Chan Stéphie Peang, Béatrice Viguier

Superinfocom Rubika, France

Undone

Saira George, Sara Laubscher

The Animation School, South Africa

Wild Love

Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Léa Georges, Maryka Laudet, Zoé Sottiaux, Corentin Yvergniaux

Ecole des Nouvelles Images, France

DOCUMENTARY

Amor, Só de Mãe

Julia Hannud, Catharina Scarpellini

Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, Brazil

Años Dorados

Catalina Etcheverry

Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile

Dust Rising

Lauren Schwartzman

UC Berkeley, USA

Enforcement Hours

Paloma Martinez

Stanford University, USA

Family

Yifan Sun

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

Forced

Nani Walker, Grace Oyenubi

UC Berkeley, USA

Great! Lakes

Tess Wagman

Rhode Island School of Design, USA

Guanajuato Norte

Ingrid Holmquist, Sana Malik

Columbia University, USA

Love & Loss

Nikki (Yiying) Li

University of Southern California, USA

Mushroom Boys

Eric Youwei Lin

LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore

Night Cleaners

Hanna Nordenswan

School of Visual Arts, USA

The Clinic

Elivia Shaw

Stanford University, USA

The Flow Effect

Lachlan Henry

Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

The Silhouette of Braids

Rotem Dimand

Jerusalem Film School, Israel

The Wind's Heritage

Alejandra Retana, Cesar Camacho, Cesar Hernández

University of Guadalajara, Mexico

Transcenders

Ernest Pathi

Loyola Marymount University, USA

Trouble Finds You

Stephanie Tangkilisan

Columbia University, USA

Unspoken War

Javeus Toh Zuan Hao

LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore

Uzzi

Ido Weisman

Tel Aviv University, Israel

We Are All Here

Hannah Currie

Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

LIVE ACTION

Amal

Dilek Ince

California State University, Northridge, USA

Azaar

Myriam Raja

National Film and Television School, UK

Calamity Falls

Hadley Hillel

Chapman University, USA

Dog Eat Dog

Rikke Gregersen

Kristiania University College, Norway

Esta Es Tu Cuba

Brian Robau

Chapman University, USA

Fait Divers

Léon Yersin

Geneva University of Art and Design, Switzerland

Favoriten

Martin Monk

Film Academy Vienna, Austria

Harmaa Susi

Topi Raulo

Aalto University, Finland

How to Live Your Life Correctly

Xindi Lou

American Film Institute, USA

Jupiter

Benjamin Pfohl

University of Television and Film Munich, Germany

Miller & Son

Asher Jelinsky

American Film Institute, USA

Nice Talking To You

Saim Sadiq

Columbia University, USA

November 1st

Charlie Manton

National Film and Television School, UK

One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand

Ond?ej Erban

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic

Seventy

Jiage Tong

City College of New York, USA

Simon Cries

Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento

Institut des Arts de Diffusion, Belgium

The Little Goddess

Gauri Adelkar

Columbia University, USA

The Trip

Daniel Rihák

Academy of Performing Arts, Slovakia

Videotape

Sandra Concepción Reynoso Estrada

Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, Mexico

Youth In Bed

Edward Zorab

Met Film School, UK

A panel of BAFTA members will review the films on the shortlist and vote for three finalists each in the categories of Live Action, Documentary and Animation. The finalists will be announced on June 4 and the directors will be flown to Los Angeles for the finals screening and awards event at The Broad Stage.

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." The BAFTA 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.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the U.K. and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round program of learning events and initiatives - which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the U.K., U.S. and Asia - BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For advice and inspiration from the best creative minds in working in film, games and television, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

Founded in 1987, 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 award-winning community outreach program, screenings, seminars, Q&As, scholarships for British students studying in the U.S., a Newcomers Program for emerging British talents working in the U.S., and a Heritage Archive project that 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, Film and Television Tea Parties and the Student Film Awards.

BAFTA Los Angeles is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation and relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing work. www.bafta.org/losangeles

About Global Student Accommodation Group (GSA)

Space to Grow

www.gsa-gp.com

The team at Global Student Accommodation Group (GSA) believes that what students learn and take away from university is about much more than the course they are studying. Accommodation is the cornerstone of student life, which is why GSA is focused on developing secure, vibrant communities which help students get the most out of university.

GSA creates spaces to grow for university students by developing, managing and investing in student accommodation across a growing footprint of the world's top university cities. Students can find a welcoming home away from home at GSA communities in cities across Australia, UAE, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Spain and the U.K.

GSA creates communities designed around students under several brands globally - Uninest Student Residences (www.Unineststudents.ie; www.unineststudents.de; www.unineststudents.jp/en;https://unineststudents.ae) The Student Housing Company (www.thestudenthousingcompany.com; www.thestudenthousingcompany.com.au) and Nexo Residencias (www.nexoresidencias.com/en)

Focused on delivering high levels of service, security and attention to detail, GSA's team aims to deliver the best student living and hospitality experience possible. Exceptional customer service underpins GSA's strong communities, as does the company's unique Student Wellbeing Strategy. Since 2018, the award-winning 9-pillar framework has been providing quality in-residence services to support students during what can be vulnerable transitions in their lives, raising awareness of potential catalysts for stress and teaching students the skills and resilience to overcome them. By the end of 2019, 30,000 students globally will have access to the programme.

The BAFTA Student Film Awards 2019 are supported by Global Student Accommodation (GSA).