UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO– Ten student-led teams from the College of Arts & Media (CAM) have been awarded a total of $15,000 in funding for creative and scholarly projects as a part of the inaugural Dean’s Student Innovation Award. The awards, which encourages collaboration and idea exchange, will support large-scale, cross-disciplinary projects to be completed this spring and presented at the first CAM Innovation Awards celebration to be held at a date to be determined. 

Winning projects include documentary and scripted films, art installations, music videos, animation, and virtual reality. Each student-led project represents at least two of CAM’s three departments (Film & Television, Music & Entertainment Industry Studies, Visual Arts), making the projects multi-dimensional, versatile endeavors.

The nine awards range from $500 to $5,000. The single top prize of $5,000 was awarded to “Highly Functioning” a short film about a teenager and her father, both who have autism. Senior filmmaker, Jamie Zurzolo, leads the project which follows the trials of navigating high school and home while on the Autism spectrum. The award money will be used towards equipment, production design, paying actors, entering film festivals, and even feeding the crew.

“With this award, we are going to be able to make a darn good film,” says Zurzolo. “Once production is complete, the remainder of the award will be used to enter film festivals, even the Student Academy Awards.”

“Vintage Mixed Lot”, receiving a $2,500 award, is a documentation of the investigation into a box of vintage 12mm home movies. Using information from the films and notes handwritten on the boxes, the team of student art historians, videographers, and photographers has tracked down the family in the home movies. Using the award funds, the team is traveling to Quincy, Indiana to visit family members and locations in movies. As of March, the team has documented a peculiar set of abandon houses and conducted interviews that is proving to be building compelling "where-are-they-now" story.

“The funding from this award provides material things, like underwater cameras or custom-made set decoration,” says Film & Television faculty and project mentor, Eric Jewett. “But more importantly the Awards gave the sense of pride and accomplishment that nurtures every artist.”

“The grant shows trust and support in our team,” says Music student Camelia Ceniceros and member of the acapella group, Lark, whose project to create a promotional music video received award funding. “This motivates us to put out a product both Lark and the college can be proud of.”

CAM Dean Laurence Kaptain, developed and supported the award as an advocate for fostering the skills and experiences students will need to be prepared for the growing opportunities for careers in the arts.

“This award encourages new ideas between students across the College of Arts & Media and supports research and creative work,” says Kaptain. “This type of activity feeds into Colorado’s creative economy and creative industries nationally.”

Several of the teams will showcase their final projects at CU Denver’s annual Research and Creative Activities Symposium (RaCAS) this May. After the Symposium, CAM will host the final e inaugural Innovation Award Celebration to recognize the student teams and showcase their creative work and final projects.

Updated 3/20/2020: To keep campus, students, and community healthy and safe, the May 1st celebration is postponed. More information about the celebration will posted soon!

For more information about the award or the projects, please contact cam@ucdenver.edu.