Student Academy Awards to Take Place in London This Year

The Student Academy Awards is heading east. On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced that the annual ceremony honoring achievement in student filmmaking will take place not at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, as in years past, but at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London. The 51st Student Academy Awards will take place on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in partnership with the BFI London Film Festival.

The move to the U.K. underscores the Academy’s increasing emphasis on international student films. Last year, the three winners in animation and three in narrative were all from European schools. Academy CEO Bill Kramer referenced the international focus in a statement:

“As a leader in our international film community, and as our organization becomes more global in focus, the Academy is thrilled to bring the Student Academy Awards to London this year. We are deeply grateful to our partners at Rolex for their support of this vital program and for sharing our commitment to discovering and fostering emerging filmmakers. We are also so very thankful to the BFI London Film Festival for its partnership.”

The Student Academy Awards have long functioned as a networking opportunity for emerging filmmakers, and despite the move, this year’s event will be no different. Winners have access to panels and “exclusive access to Academy members,” the statement noted. The winners of the 51st Student Academy Awards will be announced in September — and all winning films will be eligible to compete in the 97th Oscars in the animated short, live action short and documentary short categories.

Since the Student Academy Awards began in 1972, past winners have included Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Patricia Riggen, Patricia Cardoso and “South Park” creator Trey Parker. More recent winners who have gone on to land Oscar nominations include Lachlan Pendragon, whose “An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It” made the cut for best animated short in 2023.

Rolex, which supports the Student Academy Awards, is a supporter of the Academy100 initiative, a “$500 million global revenue diversification and outreach campaign,” according to the Academy.