BEA Announces the 2024 Festival of Media Arts and “Best of” Festival Award Winners
For Immediate Release: February 19, 2024
Contact: Heather Birks |
Washington, D.C. – Twenty faculty and student works have been chosen to receive the BEA “Best of” Awards – the top awards given during BEA’s Festival of Media Arts, a competitive festival for BEA faculty and student members.
Best of Festival winners will be honored at the 22nd Annual BEA Best of Festival Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas on Monday, April 15, 2024 as part of BEA’s annual convention. During the ceremony, recipients will be recognized with a specialized screening of their winning project and a cash award of $1,000 from the Diana King Memorial endowment. The 2024 Best of Festival winners were selected from a pool of over 1,885 entries, representing over 300 colleges and universities in the following competitions: audio, documentary, film & video, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting, sports and two-year colleges.
2024 Best of Festival Winners
Audio Competition – Faculty
1997: PaRappa the Rapper; Rodmanned Nikpour, Arizona State University (Long-Form Production Category)
Audio Competition – Student
Alice in Wonderland Reimagined; Ethan MacCowan & Amber Brinton, University of Southern Indiana (Comedy or Drama Category)
Documentary Competition – Faculty
Camellia Flowers; Changhee Chun, University of Texas at Arlington (Short-Form Documentary Category)
Documentary Competition – Student
the ambassadors; Brinson Davenport & Marianna Davenport, Harding University (Short-Form Documentary Category)
Film & Video Competition – Faculty
Colon Cancer PSA; Mike Igoe & Jim Gibbons, State University of New York at Fredonia (Commerical or PSA Category)
Film & Video Competition – Student
Dance of Dissent; Shanon McNeil, Huntington University Arizona (Animation Category)
Scrappy Dappy The Movie; Parker Hall, University of North Carolina – Wilmington (Promotional Category)
Interactive Multimedia Competition – Faculty
The Clinton House Museum Interactive Timeline; Ringo Jones & Lane Kendall, University of Arkansas and University of Kansas (Interactive Reality Category)
Interactive Multimedia Competition – Student
Infodemic; The Infodemic Staff, Syracuse University (Website Category)
News Competition – Faculty
The day after Valentine’s Day; Mike Castellucci, Michigan State University (Television Hard News Reporting Category)
News Competition – Student
Protesters march at Arizona Capitol against anti-queer bills; Amber Victoria Singer, Arizona State University (Radio Hard News Reporting Category)
Inside ICAC; Chris Will, University of Florida (Television Hard News Category)
Centre County Report in Estonia; Matt Noah, Hannah Markovich, Logan Bourandas & Penn State International Reporting Team, Penn State University (Televison News Magazine)
Scriptwriting Competition – Faculty
HELLAS; Matthew Evans, University of Georgia (Original Television Series Pilot Category)
Scriptwriting Competition – Student
Suicide Squeeze; Prescott Myles, Palm Beach Atlantic University (Original Television Series Pilot Category)
Sports Competition – Faculty
Cincinnati Men’s Basketball Live Telecast vs SMU; Joe Brackman, University of Cincinnati (TV Sports Event Direction and Production)
Sports Competition – Student
2023 Minnesota State Men’s Hockey Hype Video; Ben Stelter, Colin Neville & Aaron Kabengele, Bethany Lutheran College (Promotional Video/Tease/PSA Category)
Student Two-Year Colleges Competition
NoirVember; Ricardo Garcia, Harper College (Non-Narrative Audio Category)
Adjunct Faculty & Staff Competition
Demonised: Bewitched and Possessed; Helen Jackson, Victoria McCollum & Andrew Sneddon, Ulster University
Graduate Student Competition
Stranger Things, Episode 501, “Chapter 1: The Pull”; Alyssa Malloy, Missouri State University (Graduate Scriptwriting Competition)
For a complete list of winners for all of the Festival of Media Arts competitions, please visit beaweb.org/festival
About the Broadcast Education Association (BEA): BEA is the premiere international academic media organization, driving insights, excellence in media production, and career advancement for educators, students, and professionals. There are currently more than 2,500 individual and institutional members worldwide. Visit www.beaweb.org for more information.
About the BEA Convention: BEA’s annual convention is held in conjunction with NAB Show in Las Vegas every spring. Co-located at the Las Vegas Convention Center, BEA’s annual convention attracts over 1,200 educators and students with 200 sessions, events, research panels, technology workshops and an exhibit hall, making BEA NAB Show’s largest conference partner. Click here for more information.
About the Festival of Media Arts: The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international refereed exhibition of faculty creative activities and a national showcase for student work. The Festival provides a venue for exhibition of winning submissions, including recognition of project authors, through showcase and awards sessions held during BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas. The Festival seeks to enhance and extend creative activities, teaching, and professional standards in broadcasting and other forms of electronically mediated communication. The “Best of” Festival awards are made possible by the Diana King Memorial Endowment in 2020. The endowment was a gift from The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation, the original sponsor of the Festival. Visit www.beafestival.org for more information.
