TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — It's an honor most people can only dream of getting, an Oscar. Five FSU Film School graduates had a chance at winning one at the 95th Oscar Awards, which in turn will be a recruiting tool for future students.
Dominique Riley is a second year graduate writing student in the film school. She says she chose the FSU Film School because of it's reputation.
"When I was looking to graduate what I saw was just how many alum come out of this school and they just kick butt," Riley said. "One of my biggest inspirations is Barry Jenkins... I love if Beale Street Could Talk, I love Moonlight. So I'm like I'm going to go where Barry went."
Five Alumni were nominated for Oscars this year including Allison Rose Carter, Marc Ostroff, Sara Bennett Crowley, Brendan Murphy, and Ivette Garcia. Paige Roberts is the Head of Admissions for the film school. She says seeing those five alumni attain this level of success is exhilarating.
"To be nominated along the greats like Spielberg is just an incredible honor in and of itself," Roberts said. "And for our students to know they could have this honor too in not a very long time, it's achievable for them, and this event helps bring that home."
Riley says the benefits of being a film school alumni include a large network of people that can potentially get you your first job in the industry.
"When we graduate we can come back and get a grip truck and equipment to make our own movies. We get access to our amazing alumni network and because of that if people know you're from FSU they know you're capable," Riley explained.
The nominees from the film school had job titles that ranged from finance executive to co-producer. Roberts says the school prepares their students for any role they want to take on in the industry.
"There are so many different jobs in film," Roberts said. "Just because you might not be a director of the movie that is nominated for Best Picture, you can still have that celebration as you worked on that film that gained that nomination."
Of course, those five Oscar nominees are a part of a long line of successful alumni to come out of the film school. The last film school alumni to win an Oscar was Barry Jenkins for his film Moonlight in 2017.
