The Student Academy Awards (SAA) recognizes and honors student filmmakers who demonstrate excellence in the creation of motion pictures. By awarding these outstanding achievements, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences strives to support and inspire emerging filmmakers and to foster growth and education in the art and science of motion pictures.

Student Academy Awards Website

Frequently Asked Questions

Qualifying Film Festivals

Technical Specifications for Semifinals and Finals

Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals (which include cash grants of $5000, $3000 and $2000 respectively) may be awarded in each of the categories (Narrative, Documentary, Animation, or Alternative/Experimental)

PLEASE NOTE: the Student Academy Awards no longer distinguishes between domestic (U.S.-based) schools and international (non-U.S.-based) schools for submission rules. All eligibility requirements and all submission processes apply to all entries regardless of where the school is based. All students with eligible films may submit their films directly to the competition without having to go through their school.

Please note: the Student Academy Awards no longer distinguishes between domestic (U.S.-based) schools and international (non-U.S.-based) schools for submission rules. All eligibility requirements and submission processes apply to all entries regardless of where the school is based. All students with eligible films may submit their films directly to the competition without having to go through their school.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
The director(s) of a submitted film must be a student who was enrolled (full-time or part-time) in a degree-granting program at an eligible school when the film was made.

SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY
1. Domestic (U.S. based) must be accredited by one of the following agencies:
a. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
b. New England Association of Schools and colleges
c. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
d. Northwest Accreditation Commission on Colleges and Universities
e. Western Association of Schools and Colleges
f. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
2. International (non-U.S. based) must meet the following criteria
a. Schools must be accredited by the responsible governing body in their country (in order to submit through the film festival qualifying option).
b. Programs must offer an associates, bachelors or graduate degrees.
c. Animation Training Programs do not have to provide college degrees but may offer a certificate to its students upon completion of the program.
d. Program must be either a non-profit educational organization or a government sponsored educational institution.

FILM ELIGIBILITY
Provided you meet the eligibility requirements listed above:
1. Films that are undergraduate intermediate level or capstone films, or graduate school intermediate level or thesis films are automatically eligible for entry. Students may submit these films directly to the competition.
a. Intermediate level means films completed in your second-to-final year (i.e., a junior-level class) for undergraduate students and second year or later for graduate school students
b. For undergraduate students enrolled in an associate degree-granting program (i.e., a 2-year school like a community college), only second-year films are automatically eligible.
2. Films that are not automatically eligible (i.e., undergraduate freshman or sophomore films, or first-year graduate school films) can become eligible if:
a. They are selected through the school waiver process OR
b. The film gains eligibility through the film festival qualifying process. (See Submission Process section for more details about both options.)
3. A film must have been made as part of a student’s coursework or graduation requirement.
4. All films must be no longer than 40 minutes including opening and closing credits.
5. Student directors are only allowed to submit one film per competition year.
6. Films must have been completed and submitted for final credit/grading between June 2, 2023 and June 1, 2024, and within one year of the student’s graduation date, with one exception:
a. Films eligible through the “festival qualifying process” are allowed two years from the date of their completion to qualify.
7. Do not submit works in progress. Films may not be altered once submitted for Student Academy Award consideration.
8. Films cannot have been entered in any previous SAA competitions. Making changes to a film submitted in a previous year, even significant changes, does not make the film eligible again.
9. Films submitted for the Academy Awards competition (regardless of the outcome) are not eligible for entry into any subsequent SAA competition.
10. Films (including any still images) must not display any festival laurels, or awards won.
11. All films submitted must be in English, subtitled in English, or dubbed in English.
12. Music videos, TV and web series episodes, advertising films, promotional films, and films made as works for hire are not eligible.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
1. The SAAs honor up to three credited directors. If your film has more than three directors, please submit the names of up to three who are the most responsible for creative direction of the project. If there are any credit discrepancies or controversies, the Academy will insist that credits be settled before the film may be considered for an award. The Academy will not be bound by any contract or agreement relating to the sharing or giving of credit, and reserves the right to make its own determination of credit for purposes of SAA consideration.
2. Entry forms and films must be submitted digitally via FilmFreeway.com
3. Films must be viewable on FilmFreeway. They can either be uploaded as a video file or pasted as a URL from Vimeo or YouTube only. If one of the latter, please enable your privacy settings to allow your film to be embedded.
4. You must supply your faculty advisor’s name and email when asked. Do not provide your email in lieu of theirs. They will be contacted to verify your film and student status.
5. Each film must be submitted to one category only. If a film is determined to be in an incorrect category, it will be reassigned to the correct category.
6. Films advancing to the semifinal round of judging will be asked for the below additional formats. Preferred media specs can be found by visiting the Technical Specifications page linked above. Any hard media provided will be returned to the entrant after the competition ends.
a. An HD or UHD digital video file (we would like the best source available)
b. A DCP
c. English closed captioning (required for all semi-finalists)
d. English subtitles (required for all non-English content)
e. English audio description audio file (if it is available for your film)
7. Failure to satisfy all the entry requirements will result in disqualification.

SUBMISSION PROCESS
If the film meets the automatically qualified criteria from above, it can be submitted directly to the competition by the student without taking any other steps. If the film does not meet the automatically qualified criteria, it must qualify for the competition in one of two ways: through school waivers or through film festival qualifying.

1. SCHOOL WAIVERS

Each eligible school is allowed up to three waivers that can be used at its discretion to award eligibility status to a student film that is not automatically eligible (i.e., an undergraduate freshman or sophomore film, or first-year graduate school film) but is deemed of such high quality that it deserves SAA consideration. Each school will determine the process it uses to award these waivers. Before being accepted into the competition, schools must notify the SAA office as to which films have been awarded waivers by filling out a school waiver form. Schools can request access to this form by emailing saa@oscars.org.

2. FILM FESTIVAL QUALIFYING

Films that are not automatically eligible (i.e., undergraduate freshman or sophomore films, or first-year graduate school films) can also gain eligibility by being selected in competition at three film festivals from the SAA FILM FESTIVAL QUALIFYING LIST. Students have a two-year window in which to qualify through this option. For example, a student who completed a freshman or sophomore-level undergraduate film in 2022 before June 1 of that year will have until June 1 of this year to gain eligibility through the film festival qualifying process. (Please use the link above to see the list of eligible film festivals.)

PUBLICITY
1. Student Academy Award participants may only promote their status in the competition within the explicit guidelines provided by the Academy.
2. Promoting any film entered into the SAA competition to Academy members (either by the filmmaker or by a third party, sometimes referred to as campaigning) while the SAA competition is active is not allowed and will be considered cause for disqualification.

MISCELLANEOUS
1. Student Academy Awards medal-winning films are eligible for entry into the following year's Academy Awards competition, provided the films satisfy all criteria for the Academy Award category for which they are entered.
2. If the eligibility and/or category of any entry is questioned, the Academy reserves the right to make a determination as the SAA Executive Committee may deem appropriate at its discretion.
3. The Academy reserves the right to amend or modify any procedure, process, or rule, as may be considered necessary by the SAA Executive Committee for the proper conduct of the Student Academy Awards or to adhere to any standards set forth by the Academy.
4. The Academy is not responsible for late, missing, or damaged entries.
5. The decisions of the Academy regarding any matter relating to the SAA will be final and binding in all respects.

AWARDS CATEGORIES

ANIMATION - Animated films may present an original narrative story, an existing story or fable, or an exploration of a mood or thought. Either comical or serious, they usually fall into one of two general fields -- character animation or abstract animation. Various techniques include cel animation, computer animation, clay animation, stop-motion, pixilation, cut-out pins, camera multiple-pass imagery, kaleidoscope effects, and drawing on the film frame itself. Winning Animation films are chosen by judging the product as a whole, as well as the artistic and technical skill of the filmmaker in whatever motif or animation technique the student has chosen.

DOCUMENTARY - Documentary films are nonfiction visual essays that seek to present historical subjects, current social or political issues, or specific human experiences in such a way as to have a dramatic impact upon the viewing audience. Documentaries may be filmed in the cinéma vérité style where camera and microphone merely record the event without injecting the comments or subjective conclusions of the filmmaker, or may be a reenactment. In the latter case, the distinction between dramatic and documentary film lies in the fact that while dramatic film is fictional, documentary film deals with factual situations and circumstances. Winning films in this category are chosen on the basis of artistic technique, as well as the ability of the documentarian to fashion reality into a film essay which leaves the audience better informed and/or moved.

NARRATIVE - Narrative films strive to portray life, a character or a narrative story much the same way a novel does, but within the context of an audiovisual medium. Past narrative films by students have included, but were not limited to, dramas, comedies, musicals, and many other story oriented genres. Winning entries in this and all other categories reflect the merit of the film when viewed as a whole, as well as the professional execution of its component parts, such as script, dialogue, direction, cinematography, lighting, acting, editing and scoring. Narrative category films may be adaptations of existing pieces of literature or original stories written by the student filmmaker.
Note to entrants: We do not accept music videos, TV and web series episodes, advertising films, promotional films, and films made as works for hire in this category or any other.

ALTERNATIVE/EXPERIMENTAL – Alternative/Experimental films challenge traditional cinematic boundaries and conventions of expression. They employ unusual or groundbreaking aesthetic and technical elements. Generally, they do not follow conventional or predictable narrative form. They allow for ambiguity and complexity of thought, and use abstraction or lyricism in their execution. Alternative/Experimental films often expand the language of cinema.
Note to entrants: This category is not meant to be a “catch all” category for films that have unusual narratives or structure.

JUDGING

1. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shall judge entries on the basis of originality, entertainment, and production quality without regard to cost of production or subject matter. Entries shall be judged only within their respective category.
2. All stages of judging, including Preliminary, Semifinal, and Final rounds, shall be overseen by the members of the Academy.
3. Upon submission, entries shall be verified for eligibility and category.
4. Preliminary entries will be judged via their online digital submission. At this stage, the Academy has the option to re-categorize the entry into a more suitable category. Filmmakers will be notified of advancement to the semifinals by mid-July.
5. Semifinalist entries shall be judged online only. Filmmakers will be notified of advancement to the finals by mid-August.
6. Finalist entries shall be judged online only. Final ballots will be tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers and filmmakers in each category will be notified of their final status by mid-September.
7. Presentation of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal award winners in each category will be made at the Student Academy Awards Ceremony on October 29, 2024.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Giorgio Ghiotto

    Submit your film, believe in yourself! This could be the best opportunity of your life. Thank to the Academy team and family for the unforgettable experience.

    October 2023
  • Lyuwei Chen

    As a Student Academy Award Winner for Documentary, I attended the ceremony in LA. It's fantastic and extraordinary. The Silver Award I received gave me the courage and confidence to continue working in this industry. Thank you for the incredible experience.

    October 2023
  • Shuhao Tse

    The journey of participating Student Academy Awards was incredible.

    November 2022
  • Welf Reinhart

    The student academy awards have always been my dream. The week in L.A. was fantastic. The team of the SAA (Sean, Hector, Chris, Michael, and many more) is incredibly nice and they do such a great work to connect filmmakers and present their work. - Thank you for all of that!

    October 2022
  • Sujin Kim

    They are creating a miracle.
    The best film competition that I ever participated in as a filmmaker.

    October 2021