ASC Announces 2024 Student Heritage Award Nominees

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced nominees in the 2024 Student Heritage Awards competition, which was sponsored by Sony. The awards are one of several educational programs designed by the organization to support a new generation of talent in the early stages of their cinematography careers.

Here is the announcement made at the ASC Clubhouse on the morning of Sept. 4 by ASC President Shelly Johnson and Society members Craig Kief and Armando Salas, the Co-Chairs of the Student Award Committee:

To qualify, a student’s undergraduate, graduate or documentary project is submitted and judged by an ASC blue-ribbon panel for demonstrating exceptional cinematographic skill.

Each year, the ASC Student Heritage Awards honor the memory of esteemed ASC members who exemplified the highest standards of what it means to be a dedicated member of the organization.

The 2024 ASC Graduate Award honors the distinguished John Bailey, ASC, whose career spanned over 35 years and boasts a diverse and impactful list of credits. Bailey's filmography includes iconic titles such as American Gigolo, Ordinary People, The Big Chill, As Good as It Gets and In the Line of Fire. His exceptional contributions to cinematography have earned him widespread acclaim and deep respect within the filmmaking community. In addition to serving on the ASC Board of Governors for many years, Bailey was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2017 to 2019. He was awarded the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, further acknowledging his remarkable influence and dedication to the art of cinematography.

The ASC Undergraduate Award celebrates George Spiro Dibie, ASC, whose innovative cinematography earned him five Emmy Awards and seven additional nominations for multi-camera, episodic television series. Dibie’s remarkable work on series such as Mr. Belvedere (1985), Growing Pains (1987 and 1991), Just the Ten of Us (1990), and Sister, Sister (1995) distinguished him as a pioneering force in television cinematography. His creative contributions were further recognized with nominations for Night Court (1986 and 1988), Growing Pains (1992), Dudley (1993), and Sister, Sister (1996, 1997 and 1998). Beyond his groundbreaking work behind the camera, Dibie was a dedicated union leader and a passionate educator, advocating for the advancement of the cinematography profession and mentoring the next generation of talent.

The Documentary category is enduringly dedicated to Haskell Wexler, ASC, a luminary in cinematography. Wexler won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966 and Bound for Glory in 1976. He also earned additional nominations for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (shared with Bill Butler, ASC), Matewan, and Blaze. Wexler wrote, directed, and shot Medium Cool, a seminal film celebrated for its pioneering cinéma vérité style and widely studied by film students around the globe. His career began with documentary filmmaking, and he remained a passionate advocate for the genre throughout his life. Wexler was honored with the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992.

Below are the nominees for the 2024 ASC Student Heritage Awards:

John Bailey Student Heritage Award - Graduate Category
Audrey Biche Cais for Misalignment (American Film Institute)
Zhen Li for Before the Winter (Chapman University)
Joewi Verhoeven for Taha (American Film Institute)

George Spiro Dibie Heritage Award - Undergraduate Category
Conrad Holzman for Resonance (SOUND) (Chapman University)
Bamba Kimball for Smirnoff: Mission (ArtCenter College of Design)
Isabelle Leonard for Amos’ Bride (University of Southern California)
Ian Roper for My Child (Emerson College)
Tate Stüssy for Revelation (Loyola Marymount University)

Haskell Wexler Documentary Category
Davis Brownell for Heart of the City (University of North Carolina School of the Arts)
Makenna Buhler for Life After (Brigham Young University)
Jui-Ting (Rita) Tsao for In the Eye of the Beholder (Loyola Marymount University)
Meg Weck for Danceable (University of Southern California)

Many of those recognized by the ASC Student Heritage Award program since it was inaugurated in 1999 have gone on to have successful careers in filmmaking, including Student Awards Committee Co-Chairs Craig Kief and Armando Salas, alongside other ASC members Nelson Cragg, Masanobu Takayanagi and Lisa Wiegand.