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Student cinematographers receive Heritage Awards from ASC
Jonah Torreano and Lisa Wiegand are the recipients of the first American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)/Karl Struss Heritage Award for outstanding achievement by a film school student or recent graduate in filmmaking.
"One of the goals of ASC is to inspire and support young people who have the talent and ability to pursue careers as cinematographers," says Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, chairman of the ASC Education Committee. "These young people represent our hope for the future."
For Torreano, who earned a bachelor’s in film from the Art Center College of Design in April 1998, the awards dinner was a chance to meet his idols. "Everything I’ve seen and admired in movies since I was young was made by members of ASC," he says. "The amazing thing is that it’s full of very, very nice people who want to help out young filmmakers."
His reel included several commercials and a PSA that took best cinematography in last year’s CINDY Awards. "I’ve always been interested in photography and wanted to be a director of photography," he says. "In school, it’s difficult to shoot long projects, so you do shorts. I set my whole learning curve toward short, narrative filmmaking." He hopes to get a professional start in commercial work soon.
Wiegand earned her master’s of fine arts degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in June 1998, and also studied at the American Film Institute. While still a student at UCLA, Wiegand shot Shopping for Fangs, a low-budget feature (see March 1998 American Cinematographer magazine), followed by two more features, Dean Quixote and Eastside. She has also been noted by Filmmaker magazine as an up-and-coming talent in the world of independent filmmaking.
Wiegand says she has been fortunate to have several projects offered to her so early in her career. Her advice to other young filmmakers: "The most important thing is to keep doing what you want to do. Don’t be deterred if it takes a while to get projects or get recognized. You have to decide you are a cinematographer, even if you’re not shooting anything for six months."
ASC also presented honorable mentions to Rogelio Gonzalez-Abraldes who received a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, Martin Ahlgren, a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and Michael Culyba, a master’s degree graduate of Florida State University School of Motion Pictures, TV and Recreation Arts.
The heads of cinematography departments nominated candidates and a blue ribbon panel of ASC members chose the winners based solely on merit.
The Heritage Award will be dedicated to the memory of a different cinematographer each year. Struss shared the first Oscar® Award for cinematography in 1927/28 with Charles Rosher for Sunset.
ASC was founded in Los Angeles in 1919 for the purposes of advancing the craft and art of cinematography. The ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards competition was inaugurated in 1984. For more information about ASC or the Cinematography Heritage Award, visit the ASC website at www.cinematographer.com.
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The Heritage Award was inaugurated in commemoration of the ASC’s 80th anniversary in 1999. The recipients were honored at the 13th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards.
