AFI Conservatory Films Dominate The 2015 Student Academy Award Nominations

Los Angeles, CA — The AFI Conservatory swept the 2015 Student Academy Awards with the most nominations of any film school in all of this year’s categories, dominating the Narrative category with four of the seven nominees:

AGAINST NIGHT directed by Stefan Kubicki (AFI Class of 2014)
The short film’s credits include AFI Class of 2014 alumni: director/writer Stefan Kubicki, producer Saba Zerehi, cinematographer Nicolas Navia, editor Shayar Bhansali and production designer Aleksandra Zgorska.

DAY ONE directed by Henry Hughes (AFI Class of 2014)
The short film’s credits include AFI Class of 2014 alumni: director/writer Henry Hughes, producer Michael Steiner, cinematographer Kee Sun Kyung, editor Anisha Acharya and production designer Benjamin Cox. The film most recently won the BAFTA U.S. Student Film Award. It has also earned director Hughes and producer Steiner the Directing award and the Drama award, respectively, at the 36th College Television Awards.

STEALTH directed by Bennett Lasseter (AFI Class of 2014)
The short film’s credits include AFI Class of 2014 alumni: director Bennett Lasseter, writer/producer Melissa Hoppe, producer Muhua Yang, cinematographer Andressa Cor and editor Leo Chan. The film was also recognized at the 68th Cannes Film Festival’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase with an Honorable Mention. It also earned Hoppe the Children’s Programming award at the 36th College Television Awards.

THIS WAY UP directed by Jeremy Cloe (AFI Class of 2014)
The short film’s credits include AFI Class of 2014 alumni: director/writer Jeremy Cloe, writer/producer Michael Langer, cinematographer Cory Warner, editor Steven Pristin and production designer Ying-Te “Julie” Chen.

The sweep of nominations continues the winning streak of recent graduates for their AFI film work: the 2015 Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation First Prize and the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase Honorable Mention; five wins at the 36th College Television Awards; two wins at the 2014 DGA Student Film Awards, the BAFTA U.S. Student Film Award at the 12th annual BAFTA U.S. Student Film Awards and a bronze medal at the 2014 Student Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences administers the Student Academy Awards, which is an annual nationwide competition for college and university filmmakers that recognizes this country’s most promising new filmmakers. Winners will be announcedSeptember 17, 2015.

About the AFI Conservatory
AFI Fellows make four to 10 films during their training. Graduates of the Conservatory are part of an elite group of 4,845 alumni who report that about 81% are working. Artists from the Conservatory have received a total of 133 Academy Award®nominations and 27 wins. Throughout the completed 2014-2015 academic year, AFI alumni have been nominated for 202 awards by 38 major guilds, academies and other professional associations — with 72 award wins.

The AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling. AFI Conservatory’s alumni have been consistently recognized with all of the major industry awards — Academy Awards®, Emmy Awards®, guild awards — as well as the Tony Awards®. Esteemed director, producer and screenwriter James L. Brooks serves as Artistic Director of the AFI Conservatory where he provides creative leadership for the elite film program. Proud supporter of the AFI Conservatory is American Airlines, the official airline of AFI.

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