SCAD Wins 2020 Coca-Cola Refreshing Films Competition

SAVANNAH, Ga., July 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is proud to announce a team of SCAD students from its School of Entertainment Arts has won the grand prize in the 2020 Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program, a student filmmaking competition. SCAD students also won the competition in 2019.

The film, “Let Loose,” was created by writer/director Elina Itugot (B.F.A., film and television, Houston, TX) and her co-director/animation supervisor Henry Zhinin (B.F.A., film and television, Poughkeepsie, NY). Zhinin and Itugot will receive a Battle-Tested RED DRAGON X camera package, ZEISS Milvus Superspeed lens kit and an additional $15,000 in prize money to launch their careers. “Let Loose” is available to view at CocaColaRefreshingFilms.com.

“The idea for the film came from my personal struggles of letting myself relax and let loose,” said Itugot. “Sharing my story has given me a voice. I loved collaborating with this amazing team of fellow SCAD students. I learned so much from them and about myself as a filmmaker. It was an overwhelming and magical experience.”

“Working on this film and winning the competition is a dream come true,” said Zhinin. “It makes me feel like I’m part of something great. The number of students who worked on this project and believed in this project was amazing.”

A crew of nearly 100 SCAD students worked on “Let Loose”, which was the only film entered in the competition to feature both live-action filmmaking and animation. Ian Arnoldy (B.F.A., immersive reality, Melbourne Beach, FL), Olivia Schneider (B.F.A., film and television, Gainesville, FL), and Sharlene Richards (B.F.A., film and television, Syracuse, NY) led the production team for the 35-second film which was shot at a cinema in Gainesville, Florida and on a student-built set at SCAD Savannah Film Studios.  (Note:  A complete list of students is located at the end of the release.)

“SCAD provides us the incredible opportunity to work with fellow students who are specialized in their field,” said Schneider. “We worked with an entire visual effects team, animators, sound designers, costume designers, and a furniture design student was the production designer for the film. Students from all different concentrations came together to make the perfect film.”

Richards said, “At SCAD we are used to that kind of collaboration. That’s one of SCAD’s greatest strengths. The students we worked with are at the top of their craft and we all learn the valuable interdisciplinary skills that will help us succeed in our future careers.”

Richards was hired by Coca-Cola Refreshing Films to manage the 2020 Filmmaker Yearbook, which allows past participants to provide career updates and helps foster filmmaker connections.

Consistently ranked on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of top film and TV programs in the nation, SCAD’s School of Entertainment Arts is the preeminent program in the country for film and television as illustrated by winning the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program grand prize two years in a row. SCAD’s degree program in film and television gives students a distinct advantage before they graduate through project collaborations across disciplines that mirror how major film and TV productions work.

Having completed its twenty-third year, the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program provides opportunities for student filmmakers from partner university film schools to showcase their talent and gain real-world experience.  After teams from 38 schools submitted scripts for a 35-second film to connect viewers to the movie-going experience, finalists from five universities (SCAD, SVA, Columbia College Chicago, Ithaca College, and Biola University) were selected by the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program to produce their films.   A panel of film industry judges reviewed the films based on set criteria, selecting “Let Loose” as the grand prize winning film.  Notably, the SCAD team was unique in that each department was led by students only.

SCAD’s School of Entertainment Arts

SCAD offers one million square feet dedicated to the production of film, television and all other forms of entertainment, offering leading-edge technology and studio resources for SCAD students. Its facilities include the 60,000-square-foot SCAD Digital Media Center in the heart of Midtown Atlanta and Savannah Film Studios, a custom-designed space with all the amenities to host industry-level productions. SCAD’s impressive roster of film and television faculty includes D.W. Moffett, Quinlan Orear, Brett Wagner and more.

SCAD is also home to the world’s only professionally-run casting office at the university level. Focusing on acting for the camera and audition techniques, the SCADCasting Office has placed more than 500 students into roles for numerous films and television shows including NBC’s “Council of Dads,” “The Glorias,” directed by Julie Taymor, starring Julianne Moore, “The Underground Railroad,” directed by Barry Jenkins for Amazon, Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp,” and “Gemini Man,” directed by Ang Lee and starring Will Smith.

Additionally, SCAD is the only university to shoot student-produced television shows live before a studio audience, and is the only university shooting multi-camera productions, including “G.R.I.T.S.” and SCAD’s original sitcom “The Buzz,” which won the College Emmy ® award for Best Series.

SCAD offers signature events like SCAD Savannah Film Festival and SCAD aTVfest, which uniquely provide students with direct, unprecedented access to performers, producers, and industry experts as well as screenings, exclusive looks, and program premières. As the largest university-run film festival in the country, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is an annual tribute to excellence in film that has screened over 100 Academy Award-nominated films and honored more than 75 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers and more, for more than 20 years. Now in its  eighth year, SCAD aTVfest is a celebration of the best in the television industry, creating interactions between students and visiting professionals through masterclasses, in conversations, and keynote speeches. The brightest stars in TV come to Atlanta to spend their time visiting with students, sharing insights, and reviewing portfolios.

SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)