Artistic Director Spike Lee received an Honorary Academy Award at the 2015 Governor’s Awards, featured at the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony
Alumnus László Nemes won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film, the Best Foreign Language Film Award by the National Board of Review, and was nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for his film Son of Saul
Alumna Dee Rees won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series for Bessie
Weiner-Dog, a film written and directed by Professor Todd Solondz, premiered at Sundance and was bought by Amazon Studios
Equity, a film written by Grad Film Professor Amy Fox and DP’d by alumnus Eric Lin, premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance and was picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics
Professor Kasi Lemmons served as the Artistic Director for the Sundance Institute 2016 January Screenwriter’s Lab
Complete Unknown, a film written and directed by alumnus Joshua Marston, premiered at Sundance and was bought by Amazon Studios
My Blind Brother, directed by alumna Sophie Goodhart, DP-d by alumnus Eric Lin, from her thesis short, premiered at SXSW and sold to STARZ Entertainment
Professor Spike Lee premiered a new documentary, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, at Sundance and then aired it on Showtime
Touched With Fire, directed by alumnus Paul Dalio, produced by alumni Kristina Nikolova and Jason Sokoloff, premiered in theaters; Nikolova also served as the DP and Professor Spike Lee was the executive producer.
How to Tell You’re a Douchebag, a film produced by alumnus Martisse Hill and thesis student Julius Pryor IV premiered in Sundance’s NEXT category. It also screened in the New Voices in Black Cinema program at BAM.
Women Who Kill, written and directed by alumna Ingrid Jungermann, received the Best Screenplay Award at the Tribeca Film Festival; Jungermann has also signed on to adapt her web series “F to 7th” as a comedy series for Showtime
Hello, My Name is Doris opened in theaters. The film was co-written by alumna Laura Terruso and is based on a short film she wrote and directed while studying at Grad Film
Alumni Gabrielle Demeestere (writer/director), Chananun Chotrungroj (DP), and Shruti Ganguly’s (Producer) feature film Yosemite starring alumnus James Franco, was acquired by Monterey Media and opened in select theaters in New York and LA
Songs My Brothers Taught Me by alumna Chloé Zhao had a theatrical run at Film Forum in NYC
Alumna Pamela Romanowsky's feature film The Adderall Diaries opened in NYC theaters
Alum Perry Blackshear's thesis film They Look Like People got a digital and VOD release after its LA theatrical run
Dirt, a short film directed by alumnus Darius Clark Monroe, edited by alumnus Doug Lenox, and DP’d by alumnus Daniel Patterson, premiered in the U.S. Narrative Short Films Category at Sundance
Jungle, a short film directed by student Asantewaa Prempeh, produced by student Joyce Sherri, and DP’d by student Sheldon Chau, premiered in the U.S. Narrative Short Films Category at Sundance
Seide, a short film directed by student Elnura Osmonalieva, produced by alumna Charlotte Rabate, art directed by student Myrsini Aristidou, and DP’d by almuna Chananun Chotrungroj, premiered in the International Narrative Short Films Category at the Sundance Film Festival
Alumna Iquo Eissen's short film New York, I Love You screened in the New Voices in Black Cinema program at BAM.
Alumnus James Franco produced the film Goat, which premiered at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition
Alumna Laurie Collyer was nominated for a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series for The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
Alumna Maryann Brandon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tisch Asia alumnus Jordan Schiele’s feature film Dog Days, DP-d by alumnus Nathaniel Carton, had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival
War on Everyone, a film DP’d by alumnus Bobby Bukowski, premiered in the Narrative Spotlight section of SXSW
Tisch Asia Alumnus Han West produced Hard World for Small Things, which was in Sundance’s New Frontier: Virtual Reality Program and at the Tribeca Film Festival
Semele, a short film directed by student Myrsini Aristidou and produced by alumnus Reinaldo Marcus Green, was selected for Berlinale Generation 2016 and won the Generation Kplus International Jury Award for Best Short Film. It also was chosen to premiere in Tribeca's Learning Curve section at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tisch Asia alum Atsuko Hirayanagi was the winner of the Sundance Institute / NHK Award for her script Oh Lucy! at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
Tisch Asia alumnus Rene Pannevis’ short film Jacked had its international premiere at the Berlinale
A Quiet Place, a short film directed by alumnus Ronny Doerfler, screened at the Berlinale
Tisch Asia alumna Alle Hsu's second year film Sophie had its international premiere at the Foyle Film Festival and won the Light in Motion Awards for Best Short Film, and at the Bahamas International Film Festival in the Short Film Competition
Alumna Sasie Sealy was nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, "Gortimer and the Vengeful Violinist"
Student Lilian Mehrel's virtual reality film haunt premiered in Tribeca's Interactive Playground at the Tribeca Film Festival
The film From Nowhere premiered in the Narrative Spotlight category at SXSW. Three students worked on the film: Annie Kaempfer was the first assistant director, Joanne Mony Park was the second assistant camera, and Ruthie Marantz was the line producer.
Student Frances Bodomo was one of the writers/directors of collective:unconscious, which premiered in the Narrative Feature Competition at SXSW
The pilot of alumni Sarah-Violet Bliss' and Charles Rogers' show Search Party debuted in the Episodic category at SXSW; the series was picked up by TBS
Alumna Nisha Ganatra directed the pilot of You Me Her, which premiered in the Episodic category at SXSW
Professor Spike Lee’s film Chi-Raq was released theatrically and on Amazon Prime
Student Sheldon Chau was featured in Filmmaker Magazine on the process of shooting the short film Jungle
Professor Kasi Lemmons was one of five female directors who partnered with Indigenous Media to create an incubator called "Made by Women." The program will pair new female writers and directors with mentors like Professor Lemmons.
PBS did a feature on alumnus Yared Zeleke’s film Lamb
Professor Spike Lee's new short, 2 Fists Up, was selected to premiere in the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival: Sports Shorts section at the Tribeca Film Festival
Alumnus Ben Goldstein's new feature documentary Jack London: American Original, screened at NYU
Professor Ian Harnarine was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Media in an Original Daytime Program or Series for his video "The Amazing Song" that he directed for Sesame Street's Autism Initiative
Alumnus Reinaldo Marcus Green's critically acclaimed short film STOP was been nominated for a Webby Award for Best Drama Individual Short or Episode. He was also selected to participate in Berlinale Talents 2016
Thesis student Shawn Snyder was the recipient of this year's Sloan Tribeca grant for his screenplay To Dust
Alumnus Michael D. Ratner's film Gonzo @ Derby screened in the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival: Sports Shorts section. The film was produced by alumnus Eric Cohen, edited and associated produced by thesis student Ashish Ravinran
Alumnus Malcolm D. Lee’s film Barbershop: The Next Cut opened in theaters
Students Elnura Osmonalieva, Cenk Erturk, Myrsini Aristidou, Germain Gulick, and Elizabeth Nichols, were Graduate King Award winners at the 2016 Wasserman Awards, First Run Film Festival
Tisch Asia alumnus Nathanael Carton, student Carlos Miller, and Tisch Asia alumnus Quester Hannah are the 2016 Richard Vague Production Fund recipients
Alumni Kiara C. Jones, Jessica dela Merced, and Cenk Erturk are the 2016 Purple List Winners
Alumna Kat Westergaard DP’d the film Lovesong which premiered at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition
Beasts of No Nation, directed by alumnus Cary Fukunga, premiered to wide critical acclaim on Netflix and in theaters around the nation in October, was awarded the NBR Freedom of Expression Award, and has been nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Male and Best Cinematography. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Idris Elba
Alumnus Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea won the Golden Pyramid at the Cairo International Film Festival, Breakthrough Director at the Gotham Awards, Best Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review, is nominated for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards and was a finalist for the LUX Prize. The film was picked up by IFC Midnight and has had a theatrical release, garnering critical acclaim
Beasts of No Nation and Son of Saul were picked as the Critics’ Favorites at the Telluride Film Festival and their directors, Alumni Cary Fukunaga and Laszlo Nemes, were selected as the Best Directors as well
Three of five Best First Feature nominees at the Independent Spirit Awards are recent Grad Film alums: Alumni Chloe Zhao and Mollye Asher for Songs My Brothers Taught Me, alumni Josef Kubota Wladyka and Elena Greenlee for Manos Sucias, and Jonas Carpignano for Mediterranea
Alumnus Kiel Adrian Scott won a DGA Student Film Award for his thesis film “Samaria,” which was also a 2015 Student Academy Award Finalist
Adjunct Professor Erica Reed Marker was awarded the Sundance Institute’s 2015 Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship
Student Joshua James Richards won the award for Best Cinematography Debut at the Camerimage International Film Festival for the Art of Cinematography, Best Cinematography at BendFilm Festival, and is nominated for Best Cinematography at the Independent Spirit Awards for his work on Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Shawn Snyder was the recipient of a $100,000 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Award 2015-16 for his project, “To Dust”
Student Molly Gandour’s documentary “Peanut Gallery” and student Ben Kallam’s short “Red Folder” were selected for Slamdance 2016
Student Samuel Grandchamp’s film "Le Barrage" won the Golden Leopard for Best Short Film at the Locarno International Film Festival
Alumni Laszlo Nemes, Leah Meyerhoff, Michael Larnell, and Nisha Ganatra were named in IndieWire’s “20 Directors to watch”
Alumni Seith Mann and Nicole Kassell made IndieWire’s “25 Best Directors Working in TV Today” list
Alumnus Joey Kuhn’s feature Those People won the Audience Award for Best First U.S. Feature Film at this year’s Outfest, and was acquired by Wolfe Releasing for 2016 distribution
Student Jacqueline Dow’s Spotify commercial 'Music Everywhere' was short-listed at the 2015 Porsche Awards in Germany
Student Alik Barsoumian received a 2015-16 IFP Marcie Bloom Fellowship
Alumni Yared Zeleke and Laszlo Nemes were nominated by their home countries for Best Foreign Language Oscar
Students Reinaldo Marcus Green and Jonas Carpignano were named finalists for the San Francisco Film Society / Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants
Alumnae Pamela Romanowsky was chosen as one of the 2015-2016 Women at Sundance Fellows
Alumnae Leah Meyerhoff’s I Believe In Unicorns was released on Netflix
Alumni Martha Coolidge, Debra Granik, Maryam Keshavarz, Julia Loktev, and Dee Rees made Vulture’s “100 Women Directors Hollywood Should Be Hiring” list
Student John Ryan Johnson won First Prize for the Test Commercial category at the Young Director Awards
Tisch Asia alumni Emmanuel Ossei-Kuffour won the Best Short Award and the award for "the film with the greatest social impact to inspire change"; and Christopher Loanzon won the Best Writer Award at the NBC Universal Short Film Festival
Student Ines Gowland’s short“Latiner” won Best Film 2015 in the Official Latino Short Film Festival
Almnus Cary Fukunaga and Student Elizabeth Nichols won Princess Grace Awards