News

The TFT Film Festival, the school's annual celebration of student work, ended last week after four days of screenings, alumni awards and Q&As with distinguished honorees.

Animator Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Disney Channel’s The Proud Family received the Crystal Anvil Honoree Award; filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) was presented with the Distinguished Award in Screenwriting; producer Charles D. King (Judas and the Black Messiah) received the 2021 PGA/UCLA TFT Vision Award; and Academy Award-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) received the Distinguished Vanguard Filmmaker Award. Chung and King were also Academy Award nominees this year.

During Producers Marketplace, 2020 PGA/UCLA Vision Award recipient Stephanie Allain shared the names of the 2020-21 Promise Scholarship recipients. Allain passed the baton to King, who will assist with the review and selection of the next class of Promise Scholars.

Alumni awards went to documentary filmmaker Garrett Bradley (Time), another Academy Award nominee, and screenwriter and UCLA TFT lecturer Neil Landau (Tad, the Lost Explorer).

The festival, which began on Saturday, June 5 and was virtual this year, showcased the work of emerging professionals in animation, screenwriting, producing and directing. It was presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with generous support from SAGIndie, Dan Angel and Family, and Fezziwig Studios.

Here's a rundown of student winners:

Animation Extravaganza
Saturday, June 5

2020
Best Animation: Is That You, Joe? Dustin Romero
Best Story: Prototype, Casey Kolodin
Best Art Direction: Upstream, Kimberly Acosta
Most Innovative: Petals, Stephanie Mercado
Best of Show: Gaman, Benjamin Tomimatsu

2021
Best Animation: Conversations with the Undead, Dustin Romero
Best Story: Bucket Hat, Demetrios Tzamaras
Best Art Direction: Cayenne, Ashton Kellman-Holmes
Most Innovative: catastroPHIze, Emmy Trueswell
Best of Show: The Blue Monster, Ysabel Li

Screenwriters Showcase
Monday, June 7

Feature Adaptation: Bliss, Geo Bradley
Feature Comedy: *weird, Augustus Schiff
Feature Drama: Backstitch, Amber Lena Miller
TV Half Hour: Staying Positive, Seis Steves
TV Hourlong: The Delightful Appeal of Ruin, Julia Lunde

Producers Marketplace
Tuesday, June 8

Crossroads, Khadija Roane, producer
Dan Angel Family Producers Award (judges choice)
Promising Producers Prize (audience choice)

Directors Spotlight
Wednesday, June 9

Featured Films
The Art of Survival, Gregory Armstrong
Beauty Queen, Myra Aquino
The Blue Monster, Isabel Li
El Carrito, Zahida Pirani
Gaman, Ben Tomimatsu
Pickled, Jane Jingyu Zhang
Rendevous, Benjamin Howard
Textures, Lindsay Opoku-Acheampong
Uncle, Jun Hee Han
Upstream, Kimberly Acosta

For more details, visit the TFT Film Festival website.

Posted: June 14, 2021