The NFTS student film ‘Miss Todd’ has just won gold in the foreign section of the Student Academy Awards– the first time in the Awards’ 33 year history that an animation has won in this category – beating off competition from film schools across the world.
Directed by Kristina Yee, co-written by Frances Poletti and produced by Suzanne Mayger, Miss Todd is an innovative stop-frame animated musical using paper puppets in a story about a pioneering American female pilot.
Sixteen students from colleges and universities around the world were honored on Saturday (June 8) as winners at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 40th Student Academy Awards held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Bob Saget, a Student Academy Award winner himself in 1978, revealed the gold, silver and bronze medal placements awarded to the honorees. Writer-director Kimberly Peirce and actors Clark Gregg, Jason Schwartzman and Quvenzhané Wallis presented the awards.
Director Kristina Yee said: "I feel so honoured to be a gold medalist. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the NFTS, which is such as wonderful creatively nourishing place to study. I always felt such strong support at every turn. It's an institute that encourages you to push yourself and the boundaries of what you think is possible. To my team I owe everything. They are not only amazingly talented, but have real and rare attributes that are invaluable in the industry, like their unflagging dedication, collaborative spirit, and endless ingenuity. Team Todd is amazing.”
This is the School’s 6th Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences Student Academy Award foreign film prize – more than any other film school. Our Animation department is one of the most successful in the world. Among the many accolades received this year alone, the NFTS is the only film school to receive an Oscar nomination (Head Over Heels); the first film school to win the 'Best Student Film' award at the Annies (Head Over Heels) and the only UK film school with a film in Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival.
NFTS Director Nik Powell said: “This shows yet again that the NFTS' culture of putting together teams of the brightest students, taught by teams of the best tutors, with great stories and adventurous filmmaking results in terrific award-winning films like Miss Todd.”
Nine members of the Miss Todd NFTS team flew over to Los Angeles before the Academy Awards and were given tours of the main studios including visits to Walt Disney Animation Studios where they met Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and John Kahrs (Paperman). They also met Cinematographer Dean Cundey ASC (Jurassic Park, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hook).
NFTS Head of Animation Helen Nabarro said: “We are absolutely thrilled for Kristina and her team who worked tirelessly on this innovative film – we haven’t made an animated musical before so this was a first. We are very lucky at the NFTS to have such creative and hard-working students and dedicated tutors.”
Don’t miss your chance to join this multi-award-winning department. Apply by June 21 for the 12-week Certificate in Character Animation run with Aardman Animation at their Bristol studios. Apply by July 11 to join our award-winning Directing Animation MA two-year course run at the NFTS. Scholarships and bursaries are available for our MA courses.
Miss Todd is a character based on a real historical figure, the first female aeronautical engineer, and one who has largely been lost in history, adds Kristina Yee. “She was absolutely amazing and struggled against the standards of her time, as people continue to do today. She is worthy of a story, and deserving of a voice, which we literally give her in the musical medium of the film. I hope she serves as an inspiration to anyone who struggles to achieve their dreams. I'm so delighted to have this recognition from the Academy. I hope that this is the beginning of great things for Miss Todd!"
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. The roster includes such filmmakers as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.
Watch the trailer on the NFTS’s website Screening Room. http://screeningroom.nfts.co.uk/video/miss-todd-trailer
Miss Todd Cast: Lucie Jones
Miss Todd Filmmakers: Kristina Yee Director/Co-Writer; Suzanne Mayger Producer; Frances Poletti Co-Writer; Nick Cooke Cinematographer; Isona Rigau Production Designer; Michele Chiappa Editor; Georgia Orwell Production Manager; Philip Chapman SFX SFX/VFX; Kam Baines VFX, Online Editor and Colour Grader; Tom Lock Griffiths Sound Designer and Dubbing Mixer; Matt Kelly Composer.
Pictured: Kristina Yee (Bottom row, second from right) with fellow Academy Award winners at the Student Academy Awards held on 8th June 2013 in Beverley Hills, California.
