October 6, 2021

The American Society of Cinematographers is pleased to invite you to recommend eligible students for consideration in the 2021 ASC Student Heritage Awards competition. These awards are designed to inspire the next generation of cinematographers and to help them pursue their dreams.  (Eligibility Period – Graduated 2020 or 2021; 2019 Graduates who were unable to submit due to the pandemic may also be eligible pending ASC approval).  
 
Eligible students must be in undergraduate or graduate school or have graduated within the past year (please see the Rules of Entry for further details).  The deadline for entries is November 15, 2021. A jury of ASC members will choose the winners. Winners will be announced on Saturday, February 26, 2022.

The ASC Student Heritage Awards celebrate the memory of the Society’s most extraordinary members.  Each year, the awards are re-named in honor of esteemed ASC members. This year?s Undergraduate Award honors Isidore Mankofsky, ASC. Mankofsky built an inspiring career photographing such features as The Muppet Movie, Somewhere in Time, The Jazz Singer, Portrait of a Showgirl, In the Custody of Strangers, The Burning Bed, and One Crazy Summer. Mankofsky was the chair of the ASC Student Heritage Awards Committee for many years. He was instrumental in helping to acknowledge and inspire young cinematographers.

The ASC Graduate Award recognizes Judy Irola, ASC. Irola began her career in the late ?60s in San Francisco, working behind the camera shooting Documentaries and Indie Films. Her first feature Northern Lights won the Camera d?Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979. Irola?s credits include the feature drama An Ambush of Ghosts, Niger ?66, and Cine Manifest. Irola was honored with the Women in Film Kodak Vision Award in 1997, and The Women?s International Film & Television Showcase Awards in 2009. In 1999, Judy became the head of cinematography at USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she mentored many students.

The ASC?s Student Documentary Award is named for Haskell Wexler, ASC. He won an Academy Award in 1966 for ?Who?s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?? and a second Oscar in 1976 for ?Bound for Glory.? He received additional nominations for ?One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest? (a nomination shared with Bill Butler, ASC), ?Matewan? and ?Blaze.?  In 1969 he wrote, directed, and shot Medium Cool, which is studied by film students worldwide for its breakthrough cin?ma v?rit? style. He began his career shooting documentaries and was a passionate documentary filmmaker throughout his lifetime. He was an active member of the ASC Board of Governors for many years. In 1992 Haskell was honored with the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award.

Enclosed are a set of rules and instructions by which to recommend your best cinematography students for these prestigious awards.  If you have any questions, please email Sal@theasc.com. The deadline for entries is November 15, 2021. 

Please click here to review the rules of entry and submit an application

Sincerely, 

           
Stephen Lighthill, ASC         Craig Kief, ASC                       Armando Salas, ASC
President                                Student Awards Co-Chair        Student Awards Co-Chair