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FSU Film School Dominates National Competition:
Five Videos Win Television's Most Coveted Student Awards

Courtesy of Florida State University

Students from Florida State University's School of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts are basking in the familiar glow of yet another round of major accolades. These honors, however, will catapult the "Film School" into the industry's record book.

For the first time in the history of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences a total of five videos from a single school — FSU — have been selected to receive the Academy's most prestigious national student honors. The annual ATAS "College Television Awards" was presented at a gala ceremony on March 28 at the Academy Theatre in Hollywood.

"So many wins would be almost embarrassing if they weren't so richly deserved by our talented and well-trained student filmmakers," said Frank Patterson, dean of the FSU Film School. "This makes 13 top awards from the Academy in 13 consecutive years."

Producers of the winning films — which competed against entries from scores of other colleges and universities — enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to attend both the awards gala and the subsequent College Television Awards Festival, during which first-place winners' videos were publicly screened. The Academy Foundation provided cash prizes to award recipients, while Eastman Kodak furnished additional product grants and invited winners to participate in their Emerging Filmmakers Program at the Cannes Film Festival. Winners will be mentored by television professionals while enjoying the opportunity to showcase their work to industry notables and a national cross section of film students and faculty.

The following FSU graduate and undergraduate producers traveled to Los Angeles to collect their top ATAS prizes. While the film producers are specifically selected to receive public recognition and trip expenses for this particular Academy event, the winning directors are also noted:

First place in Comedy goes to "Zeke," a graduate thesis film produced by Cassandra Henderson, co-produced by Matthew Olmon and directed by Dana Bunning.

Second place in Comedy went to "The Plunge," a graduate thesis work produced by Stephen Broussard, co-produced by Dennis Hauck and directed by Todd Schulman.

First place in the Music category was grabbed by "To Say I Love You," an undergraduate thesis film produced by Sloane Korach and directed by John Thursby.

Second place in Drama was awarded to "3 AM," a graduate thesis work produced by Ivette Garcia Davila, co-produced by Tony Ciarlariello and Jon Lang, and directed by Stewart Hopewell.

Third place in Drama went to "The 17th Man," a graduate thesis film produced by Brooke Krinsky, Brett Jacobson and Adam J. Kreps, and directed by Yimeng Jin.

The School of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts — also known as the FSU Film School comprises one of the largest and best equipped facilities devoted wholly to film education, while its undergraduate and Master of Fine Arts programs rank amongst the most highly regarded in the world.

To see a selection of movie clips from the award winners, visit the Film School Awards at http://www.fsu.edu/%7Eunicomm/headlines/fsuheadlines_tv.html.