Stories of Justice Win at the Virtual GSA BAFTA Student Film Awards

The GSA BAFTA student film awards acknowledged achievements in animation, documentary and live-action with UC Berkeley’s Lucas Guilkey taking the prize for doc “What Happened to Dujuan Armstrong?,” which follows a woman’s search for justice after her son dies in a Santa Rita jail.

The animation trophy went to “Sous la Glace” made by a team of from France and “Mum’s Hairpins” from Russia winning the live-action award.

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A special prize was also voted on by a jury made up of actors Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Clarke Peters, directors Isabel Coixet and Reinaldo Marcus Green and filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab. The prize was awarded to “Making Waves,” a film following one woman’s work in marine wildlife conservation.

The BAFTA-GSA Grant Jury, which launched last year, also awarded $12,000 grants to filmmakers of two projects, “Witness” and “Premature.” The grants are issued to give creators a platform for encouraging awareness of the importance for well-being amongst people age 15 to 25.

Students from across the globe virtually accepted awards for filmmaking at this year’s GSA BAFTA Student Film Awards. The stories were centered around themes of racial and economic justice, land mine detection, the plight of refugees, the Holocaust, as well as the eco-system. The show, hosted by “How to Get Away With Murder” actor Elliot Knight, streamed on YouTube Aug. 7, with nine finalists from Russia, France, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Belgium, South Africa and the U.S. all nominated for awards.

“We are truly humbled by the talent and artistry of this year’s finalists, and proud of how this international program can provide a platform for new voices, unique stories, and alternative perspectives,” said Louise Chater, Peter Morris and Sandro Monetti, co-chairs of the BAFTA LA Learning & New Talent Committee. “The GSA BAFTA Student Film Awards have demonstrated that in spite of the incredible difficulties the year has brought, the desire to remain connected and to come together to support a new generation of creatives and storytellers remains as strong as ever.”

The Global Student Accommodation Group (GSA) and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) offer awards each year to creators in film schools, with the contestant pool this year including about 700 applicants from 35 countries.

The full show is available on BAFTA’s YouTube channel, and the complete list of winners is listed below:

Student Film Award for Animation -“Sous La Glace,” by Milan Baulard, Ismaïl Berrahma, Flore Dupont, Laurie Estampes, Quentin Nory and Hugo Potin (École des Nouvelles Images, France)

Student Film Award for Documentary – “What Happened to Dujuan Armstrong?,” by Lucas Guilkey (UC Berkeley)

Student Film Award for Live Action – “Mum’s Hairpins,” by Tatiana Fedorovskaya (Higher Courses for Screenwriters and Film Directors, Russia)

Special Jury Prize – “Making Waves,” by Laura Zéphirin (NYU)

Short Film Commissioning Grant – “Witness,” by Mishal Mahmud and “Premature,” by Julio Ramos (USC)

 

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