Livingston Resident Nominated for Student Academy Award

Livingston resident Robert Kornstein, director of Watercolors, has been nominated for a Student Academy Award, a national student film competition conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Academy Foundation.

Each year over 500 college and university film students from all over the United States compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in four categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Alternative. 

Kornstein was one of 19 semifinalists chosen out of a total of 180 in his region. The films will be screened April 24 and 25 in New York City and up to three films in each category may be chosen to move on to be Region 3 Finalists. Those films will be screened in competition with other regions to become SAA National Finalists. In June, the finalist films are screened in Los Angeles and awards are presented to the first, second and third place films.

Watercolors is an animated film about an "unusually artistic octopus wielding a magical paintbrush [that] tries to come up with his masterpiece," according to the NYU Tisch School of the Arts website. Kornstein recently graduated from the school, and the film is the first full-length animation he completed at NYU. 

The Student Academy Awards recognizes promising new filmmakers. Past winners include Spike Lee, Trey Parker, Bob Saget and Oscar winners John Lasseter and Robert Zemeckis.

The awards will take place on Thursday, April 25 at The Academy Theater, NYC (111 East 59th Street).