Hollywood
41st Student Oscar winners announced
MUMBAI: 15 students have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards competition. They will arrive in Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, 7 June at 6 p.m. at the DGA Theater in Hollywood. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in the five award categories will be announced at the ceremony.
For the alternative category, the winners are “Oscillate,” Daniel Sierra, School of Visual Arts, New York and “Person,” Drew Brown, The Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida. For the animation category, the winners include “Higher Sky,” Teng Cheng, University of Southern California; “Owned,” Daniel Clark and Wesley Tippetts, Brigham Young University, Utah and “Yamashita,” Hayley Foster, Loyola Marymount University, California.
In the documentary category, the winners are “The Apothecary,” Helen Hood Scheer, Stanford University; “One Child,” Zijian Mu, New York University and “White Earth,” J. Christian Jensen, Stanford University.
The winners in the narrative category include “Above the Sea,” Keola Racela, Columbia University, New York; “Door God,” Yulin Liu, New York University and “Interstate,” Camille Stochitch, American Film Institute, California. The winners who took home the coveted prize in the foreign category include “Border Patrol,” Peter Baumann, The Northern Film School, United Kingdom; “Nocebo,” Lennart Ruff, University of Television and Film Munich, Germany and “Paris on the Water,” Hadas Ayalon, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
This year saw first-time honours go to Tel Aviv University, Israel, and The Northern Film School, United Kingdom, in the foreign competition. Academy members voted the winners from a field of 49 finalists, announced earlier this month. The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. The previous Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.
Hollywood
Disney chair confident CEO Josh D’Amaro will ‘rise to the occasion’ in Trump–Kimmel row
Board backs new chief as ABC controversy tests leadership early on
NEW YORK: The Walt Disney Company has placed the responsibility of handling the escalating dispute between Donald Trump and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel squarely on its new chief executive, Josh D’Amaro.
Speaking at a business conference in Oslo, Disney chair James Gorman said it would be up to the CEO and his team to determine the company’s response to the controversy surrounding Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He noted that such challenges are not uncommon for large corporations and require careful handling at the leadership level.
The row intensified after both Donald Trump and Melania Trump publicly called for Kimmel’s dismissal following remarks made on his show. The comments, which referenced the First Lady, sparked backlash in the days leading up to a security incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Kimmel addressed the issue on-air, clarifying that his joke was intended as a reference to the couple’s age difference and not an incitement to violence. He also expressed sympathy for those affected by the incident and reiterated his stance against violent rhetoric.
Despite mounting pressure, Gorman refrained from offering specific guidance on the future of the show or the host. Instead, he voiced confidence in D’Amaro’s leadership, describing him as “world class” and capable of navigating the situation effectively.
The episode presents an early and high-profile test for D’Amaro, who stepped into the top role just last month. How Disney balances editorial independence, public sentiment and political pressure will likely shape not just the outcome of this controversy, but also the tone of its leadership in the months ahead.
