Columbia University filmmakers have been awarded all four prizes in the 
Directors Guild of America's East Coast Student Film Awards, the first time that 
students from a single school have won in all categories.
	The winning films will be screened at the Directors Guild of America 
(DGA) Theatre, 110 West 57th Street, on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 P.M.  The 
screening is by invitation only; members of the press wishing to attend should call 
(212) 854-2419.
	Lisa Collins was named Best African-American Filmmaker for her film 
"Tree Shade."  Caroline Kava took the Best Female Filmmaker for "Number One." 
Perry Lin won Best Asian-American Filmmaker for "17 Years to Earth," and 
Julia Solomonoff was the Best Latino Filmmaker for "Siesta."  The awards carry a 
cash prize of $2,500.
	"The talented students - directors, writers and producers - graduating 
from Columbia's Film Division have captured awards at prestigious festivals, 
brought their feature films to the big screen, and become a vital part of the 
independent film community," said Lewis Cole, chair of the Film Division at 
Columbia's School of the Arts.  "This new, unprecedented recognition by the DGA 
and the industry illustrates the undeniable originality and power of the work 
produced here." 
	The winners were chosen by the DGA's director members from 24 works 
submitted by students representing four film training programs on the East 
Coast. 
	"The DGA's Student Film Awards are intended to help identify and 
integrate new ethnic minority and women voices into the film industry," said 
DGA President Jack Shea.  "I'm pleased to be able to showcase these four 
extremely talented filmmakers as part of the Guild's ongoing commitment to 
equality of opportunity."
	The winning films were among those featured earlier this year in New 
York at the Polo Ralph Lauren New Works Festival, and later screened for 
industry professionals in Los Angeles.  Next year's New Works Festival is 
scheduled for April, 1999.

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