The Independent Feature Project (IFP) and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) have announced the winners of their first student film competition, IFC2000. The U.S. $2,500 "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" prize has been awarded to "Hisao" by Masahiro Sugano, a student from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Art & Design. The film is described as "an animation documentary that portrays the actual life of a Japanese singer/songwriter who has been seeking his dream in a foreign land for the past 25 years." "Hisao," along with the three award-winning live-action films, will be screened on September 19 at the IFP's Independent Feature Film Market in New York, and on October 1 in Los Angeles, at a screening sponsored by Kodak. The films will also air on the Independent Film Channel later this year (date TBD). Animator Faith Hubley, who was honored by the IFC this year, is on the jury that selected the IFC2000 winners. The other animation nominees vying for the award were "Asa Nisi Masa" by Ian Wilmoth (Rhode Island School of Design), "Crazy Glue" by Tatia Rosenthal (NYU Tisch School of the Arts) and "Everybody Bowl" by Dustin Woehrmann (Cal Arts).
