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The downtown digs of a wealthy couple become a source of luxury and languish for a displaced dog sitter in Akanksha Cruczynski’s Close Ties to Home Country. The Columbia College Chicago Mfa grad stars as a version of herself in the short, which allows her to reflect on many of her own anxieties about her overarching place in the world. Born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia, the filmmaker has grown accustomed to ignorant remarks ever since relocating to Chicago to pursue higher education. Many of these comments have been repeated and parodied in Close Ties to Home Country, […]

The post “I Think the Funniest Things Are Truthful”: Akanksha Cruczynski on Her Student Short Film Showcase Winner Close Ties to Home Country first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The winners of the third annual Student Short Film Showcase, a collaborative award bestowed by The Gotham, JetBlue and Focus Features, are currently available to stream here at Filmmaker, on Focus Features’s YouTube channel and in the air as part of JetBlue’s in-flight entertainment selection. More than 20 graduate film schools submitted works to be considered for the Student Short Film Showcase, and the winners selected for the 2021-22 slate hail from diverse backgrounds and schools across the country. Columbia College Chicago grad Akanksha Cruczynski creates an amusing yet melancholy work of autofiction with Close Ties to Home Country, which […]

The post Read Interviews With The 2021-22 Student Short Film Showcase Winners, a Collaborative Award From The Gotham, JetBlue and Focus Features first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) has announced the winners of its annual filmmaker awards, with Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s “Once Upon a Time in Calcutta” winning the grand jury prize for feature film. Anmol Sidhu’s “Jaggi” was the recipient of the Uma da Cunha Award for feature film debut, as well as the audience choice award for feature.

“This year’s edition of the film festival was wonderful in so many ways,” said Iffla executive director Christina Marouda. “The excitement felt by the reunion of so many of our filmmakers, patrons, and film fans back in the theaters was something we all shared. The months and weeks leading to the festival, we weren’t sure whether people would show up after a three-year break from an in-person festival. We were overwhelmed to see everyone coming back, eager to reconnect with the community and the Iffla family,...

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its short film program, curated from an all-time high of 10,374 submissions.

The films — encompassing categories like domestic and international live-action as well as animation — will screen throughout the hybrid festival in person, at satellite venues, and online.

“Short films are such a vital part of the independent storytelling culture that Sundance Institute has consistently put its full support behind. We’re all happy for the opportunity this year’s hybrid in-person and online,” said Kim Yutani, director of programming at Sundance.

In addition to the new crop of shorts, Sundance will also roll out a retrospective titled “From The Collection,” celebrating four decades of its notable past creators. These include works from the likes of Garrett Bradley, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cheryl Dunye, Nash Edgerton, Tamara Jenkins and Taika Waititi.

“The films selected for the ‘From the Collection’ program run the stylistic and subject matter gamut,...

The Sundance Institute today unveiled the Short Film program for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the “From the Collection” program—a lineup of 40 shorts from festivals past that will be available for streaming online, in celebration of the nonprofit’s 40th anniversary.

This year’s festival slate comprises work from 26 countries, with 59 shorts selected for from a record 10,374 submissions. All shorts will screen in programs or preceding features in-person in Utah, with most also screening online as part of the 40th anniversary collection, and an assortment screening in person at seven Satellite Screens venues around the country during the second weekend of the festival, taking place from January 20-30.

The “From the Collection” program will feature early works from notable directors including Garrett Bradley, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cheryl Dunye, Nash Edgerton, Tamara Jenkins and Taika Waititi, among others. It will play on demand on Sundance’s online platform,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 17 winners of the 48th Student Academy Awards competition.

This year’s winners were voted on from a group of 1,404 submissions from 210 domestic and 126 international colleges and universities. Previous Student Academy Award winners include Patricia Cardoso, Cary Fukunaga, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis.

The gold, silver and bronze awards across the seven categories will be presented by directors Pete Docter, Asghar Farhadi, Marielle Heller and Nanfu Wang. The Academy will hold a virtual program to honor the winners. Amandla Stenberg will host.

All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for Oscars in the best animated short film, best live action short film and best documentary short subject categories.

Here is the full list of winners.

Alternative/Experimental (Domestic and International Film Schools)

Gold: “Frozen Out,” Hao Zhou, University of Iowa

Animation (Domestic Film Schools)

Gold: “Unforgotten,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted 17 students as winners of the 48th Student Academy Awards competition.

The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards in the seven award categories will be presented today by Oscar-winning filmmaker and 1992 Student Academy Award winner Pete Docter, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, and filmmakers Marielle Heller and Nanfu Wang in a virtual program highlighting the winners and their films.

This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received a total of 1,404 submissions from 210 domestic and 126 international colleges and universities. The 2021 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award winners as Patricia Cardoso, Cary Fukunaga, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis. Hosted by Amandla Stenberg, the 2021 ceremony is now available to view here.

The 2021 Student Academy Award medalists are:

Alternative/Experimental (Domestic and International Film Schools)

Gold: “Frozen Out,” Hao Zhou, University of Iowa

Animation (Domestic Film Schools)

Gold: “Unforgotten,” Sujin Kim,...