COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FILM SCHOOL GRAD JULIE MEERSCHWAM TAKES TOP HONORS FOR “CELAMY” AT 10TH ANNUAL ANGELUS AWARDS STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL

October 22, 2005

8 Winners Selected from 27 Finalists, With Record 720 Entries from 23 Countries
Former Directors Guild President Jack Shea Receives Spirit of Angelus Award

HOLLYWOOD – The Angelus Awards Student Film Festival, now in its tenth year, awarded Julie Meerschwam, a recent graduate in the Columbia University Graduate Film Program, with the Patrick Peyton Award for Excellence in Filmmaking for her short film, Celamy, and former Directors Guild of America president Jack Shea with the Spirit of Angelus Award.

The Excellence in Filmmaking Award is the most coveted among Angelus entrants and includes a cash prize of $10,000, believed to be one of the highest among student film festivals. It is sponsored by Family Theater Productions, Hollywood, which created the Angelus Awards. The annual event, held Saturday, October 22 at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Hollywood, honors and showcases college-level student films that explore the complexity of the human condition with creativity, compassion and respect.

Meerscham’s first short film, Audrey & Einstein, played at many top festivals across the country. Celamy is her graduation film and has just started its festival run. The film focuses on Nelly, whose mom dies when she's only five, and Celamy, an imaginary friend who “moves” in to help her cope with her loss. But once Nelly hits her teenage years, it becomes painfully obvious that Celamy must choose – should she stay or leave, allowing Nelly to grow up?

This year, in addition to the Patrick Peyton Award, seven other filmmakers were selected as winners, out of a total of 27 finalists from a record 720 submissions, representing 23 countries, including the U.S. and such diverse nations as Malaysia, Israel, New Zealand, China, Panama and Denmark. (All winners are listed at end of this article.)

Other awards include the $5,000 Priddy Bros. Triumph Award for the film that best reflects a redemptive theme; $2,500 Fujifilm Audience Impact Award; the $2,500 Mole-Richardson Production Design; $1,500 Act One Screenplay prize for excellence in the craft of writing; the $3,000 Outstanding Documentary Award, sponsored by Maryknoll Productions; and the $2,000 Outstanding Animation Award, sponsored by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. New this year is the $1,000 Director’s Choice Award.

Festival juries comprised of industry professionals, including producer Stephen McEveety (“The Passion of the Christ,” “Braveheart”) and producer Douglas Urbanski (“The Contender”), convened in September to select the winners.

Meerschwam joins an impressive list of Angelus winners “alumni” including Patricia Cardoso, a student Academy Award winner and Audience Award recipient at the 2002 Sundance for “Real Women Have Curves,” and director of “Nappily Ever After,” starring Halle Berry; Barbara Schock, a 2000 Academy Award winner for Best Live Action – Short; Tony Bui, 1996, Oscar nominee and Grand Jury Prize winner at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival for “Three Seasons,” and co-producer of “Green Dragon;” Sabrina Dhawan, screenwriter of the acclaimed “Monsoon Wedding,” and Sejon Park, whose winning 2004 Angelus Award animated film “Birthday Boy” was a 2005 Academy Award nominee.

Shea was honored with the third Spirit of Angelus Award for a body of work of surpassing quality complemented by a faith lived with integrity and generosity. Former Angelus Honorary Chair Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) joined Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC, National Director of Family Theater Productions, in presenting Shea with his award. Actress Joan Van Ark, another former Angelus Honorary Chair, attended and shared how moved she was by the films.

Gary Oldman (Batman Begins, /Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban/) was the Honorary Chair of the 2005 Angelus Awards.

Matt Gallant, former host of the Animal Planet’s “World’s Funniest Animals”, was the Master of Ceremonies.

MovieMaker magazine cited The Angelus Awards as the “best student film festival bet” for student moviemakers in its January 2005 issue and placed it first in its profiles on “the best and most interesting student film festivals that America has to offer” in its Summer 2005 and educational issue.

Angelus Awards creator Family Theater Productions, a Catholic media outlet, for 58 years has produced more than 900 dramatic and documentary TV and radio programs to entertain, inspire and educate families.

More information is available from the Angelus Awards website at www.angelus.org or by calling (323) 874-6633 or (800) 874-0999.

THE 2005 ANGELUS AWARDS WINNERS
The $10,000 Patrick Peyton Excellence in Filmmaking Award:
“Celamy,” Julie Meerschwam, Columbia University

The $5,000 Priddy Bros. Triumph Award:
“Christmas Wish List,” Sean Overbeeke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The $2,500 Fujifilm Audience Impact Award:
“Winning the Peace,” Eli Akira Kaufman and Kori Shadrick, UCLA School of Film & Television

The $2,500 Mole-Richardson Production Design:
“The Double,” Rani Demuth, UCLA School of Film & Television,

The $1,500 Act One Screenplay prize:
"The Double,” Rani Demuth, UCLA School of Film & Television

The $3,000 Outstanding Documentary Award, sponsored by Maryknoll Productions:
“Unhitched,” Erin Hudson and Ben Wu, Stanford University

The $2,000 Outstanding Animation Award, sponsored by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals:
“Das Flos” (“The Raft”), Jan Thüring, Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg

The $1,000 Director’s Choice Award:
“Jeffery’s Calypso,” Vashti Anderson, New York University

Honorable Mentions and the Angelus Showcase selections were screened at an afternoon event Oct. 22 at the Directors Guild of America. They are:

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Production Design:  “Silent Warriors,” Alexandra Dierbach, Munich Academy for Television and Film
Documentary:  “Waiting for Time – The Lives of USP Marion,” Jonathan Hayes and Simon Edelman, Southern Illinois University
Animation:  “Bernie & Bingo,” Sabine Ravn, The National Film School of Denmark

ANGELUS SHOWCASE
Live action: “Shelter,” Luke Hutton, USC School of Cinema-Television
Documentary: “Perspective,” Jessica Fairbanks, University of California, Santa Barbara
Animation:  “Pizzacato,” Jeff Mednikow, School of Visual Arts, New York