SCAD Brings Star Power to 2024 Oscars
More than 150 SCAD alumni contribute to 17 Academy Award-nominated films SCAD Savannah Film Festival screened nine Best Picture nominees
ATLANTA AND SAVANNAH, GA — The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has a decades-long legacy of contributing to the most prestigious cinematic awards in the world. This year, SCAD is proud to announce the contributions of 158 alumni and current students who have contributed their talents to films nominated for the 96th Academy Awards. The Oscars will be televised live at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 10, 2024.
These talented alumni artists and filmmakers contributed to 17 films that received nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including seven Best Picture nominees and three Best Animated Feature nominees, among them global blockbusters Barbie, Oppenheimer, and sleeper hit Elemental.
The SCAD Casting Office helped to place more than 50 alumni, students, and faculty in front of and behind the camera on director Todd Haynes’ Best Original Screenplay nominee May December, which was filmed in Savannah. SCAD faculty worked directly with the production of May December to structure two SCAD classes — a production design class and a film and television class — which convened on set. In another impressive showing, Marvel Studios’ Best Visual Effects nominee Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 includes 39 SCAD alumni credits.
SCAD alumni and students who worked on these Oscar-nominated films represent a variety of top-ranked degree programs, including animation, visual effects, film and television, production design, sound design, acting, casting, dramatic writing, sequential art, illustration, architecture, interactive design and game development, fashion, painting, photography, and furniture design. For more than 40 of the alumni, this is not the first time they have contributed to an Oscar-nominated film.
SCAD’s School of Film and Acting and School of Animation and Motion have launched thousands of alumni into the movie industry, preparing students for impactful careers on film and TV productions with state-of-the-art resources, preeminent professors, an array of filming locations — including an 11-acre film backlot and two LED volumes — two professionally run casting offices, and star-studded film and television festivals,
"I am extraordinarily proud of our alumni, faculty, and current students who contribute everyday to the professional filmmaking landscape,” said SCAD School of Film and Acting Dean Andra Reeve-Rabb. “Having over 150 of our SCAD Bees working on Oscar-worthy films is a ‘WOW’ moment, and is not surprising. It is what we do at SCAD. We have countless full-circle moments that begin with a student in a master class during our film festival engaging with an award-winning actor or director. Then, fast forward a few years, and now that alum is working side-by-side with those same industry professionals making the best films of the year."
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival has established itself as a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards. Since its inception in 1997, the festival has screened more than 175 Oscar-nominated films and honored more than 125 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers.
During the 2023 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, SCAD screened 26 Oscar-nominated films, including nine of the 10 films nominated for Best Picture. Twenty-five of the festival's honorees, panelists, and other visiting guests received nominations, including Oppenheimer cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, American Fiction director Cord Jefferson, and Barbie production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer.
SCAD alumni also worked on three of the five films nominated for Best Animated Feature: Elemental, Nimona, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. These films were featured at SCAD AnimationFest in Atlanta and the 2023 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, where students benefited from the career advice given by Oscar-nominated industry professionals.
About SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 17,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 120 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator.
SCAD also has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2023 study found that 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. For more information, visit scad.edu.
About the SCAD School of Film and Acting
With resources that rival Hollywood studios, award-winning professors, stunning locations, a professionally run casting office, and stellar film and television festivals, the SCAD School of Film and Acting is the ideal place to launch into the film and television industry. The SCAD film and television, acting, production design, and sound design programs prepare students to command roles onstage and on screen through films, live performances, TV sitcoms, dramatic series, music videos, commercials, and more.
About the SCAD School of Animation and Motion
SCAD School of Animation and Motion students deliver captivating moments across multiple platforms. From illuminating fantastical realms and characters to expertly integrating motion media in virtual studio environments and public spaces, students develop the acumen, creativity, and dexterity necessary to launch their creative careers.
Media Contacts:
Michelle Gavin
Executive Director of Communications
mgavin@scad.edu
912.323.5321
Wendy Gardner
Senior Director of Public Relations
wgardner@scad.edu