The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has chosen three winners for this year’s ASC Andrew Laszlo Student Heritage Awards. The students reign from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Art Center College of Design and Northwestern University. A ceremony announcing the winners in each category was held at the ASC Clubhouse on June 16. The awards are designed to showcase the artistic abilities of the next generation of filmmakers, with a focus on their cinematographic abilities.
The winners and honorable mentions are:
Graduate
- WINNER: “Josephine and the Roach” by Damian Horan, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts
- HONORABLE MENTION: “Narcocorrido” by Benjamin Kitchens, American Film Institute
- HONORABLE MENTION: “The Bullet Catcher” by John Walstad MacDonald, Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
Undergraduate
- WINNER: “Aexis” by H.R. McDonald, Art Center College of Design
- HONORABLE MENTION: “The Drop” by Nicholas Wiesnet, Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
- HONORABLE MENTION: “Reclamation” by Adam Lee, Loyola Marymount University, School of Film and TV
Documentary
- WINNER: “Language of the Unheard” by Travis LaBella, Northwestern University*
(*only one nominee in category)
Prior to the awards ceremony, the ASC hosted an invite-only screening of all the student films at the Clubhouse for its membership and industry supporters.
Each year, the ASC Heritage Award is rededicated in memory of an individual who advanced the art and craft of cinematography. A Hungarian native, Andrew Laszlo, ASC was a talented cinematographer whose film and television career spanned 50-plus years, amassing such credits as You’re a Big Boy Now, The Night They Raided Minsky’s, The Out of Towners, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Warriors, Southern Comfort, First Blood, Streets of Fire, Innerspace, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. He earned Emmy® nominations for his work on Shogun and The Man Without a Country. Laszlo dedicated many years to teaching future directors of photography at workshops, seminars and schools around the world, and authored several books, including It’s A Wrap, a compilation of his experiences on movie sets around the world.
To qualify, professors at film schools recommended one student for each category from their school, who then submitted their film for judging. A Blue Ribbon panel of ASC members judged the 40-plus entries.
The ASC Heritage Award was inaugurated for the purpose of encouraging filmmakers to pursue careers in cinematography. Past winners have gone on to prolific careers.
For additional information about the ASC, visit www.theasc.com, or join ASC on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/the.ASC and American Cinematographer magazine fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AmericanCinematographer.