Festival dossier

Student Academy Awards

Hollywood, United States · Est. 1973 · Multiple structural red flags — exercise caution before submitting

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Hollywood, United States
26
Legitimacy Score

Overview

The Student Academy Awards is an international student film competition run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. It is notable for showcasing emerging filmmakers in animation, documentary, narrative, and alternative/experimental work, and for serving as an important launchpad in the film festival and awards circuit: many past winners have gone on to major Oscar recognition.

Last updated Aug 27, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+12 pts)

  • 53 years of verifiable history
  • 1 verified pro signal

Red Flags (-36 pts)

  • Name follows 'award mill' pattern (ends in 'Awards')
  • No physical screenings
  • 1 documented risk signal
  • On watchlist — negative reputation signals detected

Trust Signals

Risk Flags

  • AWARD_MILL_NAME

Positive Signals

  • Documented history with archived programs

Festival Details

Founded

1973

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At a glance

Legitimacy Score26/100
TierWarning
Reviews0
Community Reports0

How scoring works

Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.

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