The German director Jens Kevin Georg (30) is among this year’s winners of the Student Oscars. The graduate of the Babelsberg Konrad Wolf Film University in Potsdam, who lives near Gummersbach (North Rhine-Westphalia), won the coveted award with his short film “Kruste”. The Oscar Academy in Los Angeles announced the winners on Tuesday (local time).
According to the report, 12 films by young directors won the 51st student competition. This year, 2,683 entries were received from over 700 educational institutions from all over the world. The trophies for the winning short films in a total of four categories will be awarded on October 14 in London.
“This is absolutely amazing,” said Georg in an interview with dpa, delighted with the award. He wanted to travel to the ceremony with his “superb” production team, the actors and also his parents.
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Filmed with children
In the almost half-hour short film, director and screenwriter Georg tells a story about growing up, identity and belonging. A twelve-year-old boy named Fabi faces the challenge of being accepted as a full member of the family. To do this, he must present his first, large wound, which crusts over into a scar.
In mid-August, “Kruste” was among seven finalists in the short film category “Narrative” – now, in addition to the German winner, there are two other winning films in this category: “The Compatriot” by two directors from the Czech Republic and “Neither Donkey nor Horse” by a film graduate from the US University of Southern California.
Prizes in gold, silver and bronze
It remains exciting for the three winning films in each of the categories “Narrative”, “Animation”, “Documentary” and “Alternative/Experimental”, as the order of the awards – gold, silver or bronze – will only be announced at the awards ceremony in October. All award winners can also enter their films in the short film categories at the 2025 Oscar competition.
“I want to be colorblind,” says Georg, looking at the trophy ranking. Of course they would like to take the gold medal, but winning a Student Oscar is the best recognition of their teamwork.
Last autumn, German director Tamara Denić won the Bronze Student Oscar in the “Narrative” category for her graduation film “Istina” (Truth) at the Hamburg Media School (HMS).
Springboard to Hollywood
Since 1972, the Academy has been honoring foreign directors and young talents from film schools in the USA with these trophies. The Student Oscar has proven to be a springboard for a Hollywood career. Directors such as John Lasseter (“Toy Story”), Spike Lee (“Malcolm X”), Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future”) and Cary Fukunaga (“No Time to Die”) are among the previous winners.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240917-930-235424/1
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