The Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival was founded in 2007 at Ursuline Academy when Ann Brinkmann was the digital media teacher. One of her students came up with an idea to host a film festival, and together the two planned and launched the first Golden Lion Awards with an intimate audience and three participating local schools.
By 2017, the Golden Lion Awards had grown large enough to become an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Based in Cincinnati, the film festival is open to students in the 12 Midwest states and areas within 500 miles of Cincinnati (including parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia).
In 2018, Golden Lion Awards Inc. merged with The Underground Inc. to form the Academy of Cinematic Arts, an arts/education nonprofit committed to helping students discover their stories through digital storytelling. As part of the merger, the film festival was rebranded as the Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival (GLASFF). The event will be held May 17 this year in Cincinnati at the Walter C. Deye SJ Performance Center.
What about cinema drives the organization’s passion for film?
Stories change lives. When the next generation tells stories well, they become empowered and elevate their communities. The Academy of Cinematic Arts provides a complete cinematic arts educational system that fills the gap in our community schools by offering training, technology, mentoring and peer support for youth ages 8-19. Through our programs, students are trained and supported in their unique artistic film ventures. The merging of these elements, the support of their peers, and mentoring from talented industry professionals allow students to create their own films and tell their stories.
When young people work together in filmmaking, they develop confidence in sharing ideas with their peers, collaborate to generate storylines that become scripts and tap into their imaginations. For this reason, we produce both the Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival and the 72-hour Film Challenge that enable youth to share their stories with the world.
How has the festival grown or changed since it began?
Since the 2018 merger, the Golden Lion Awards SFF has expanded its categories to 15, including categories for students in third through fifth grade and sixth through eighth grade.
What are some of the key moments or major accomplishments in the festival’s history? What are you most proud of?
With each partnership and merger, we have been able to successfully expand our outreach across the Midwest and surrounding states, enabling more kids to have access to film competition and award recognition.
How would you describe your festival to someone who has never attended and is thinking of coming for the first time?
Join the celebration! If you are a film enthusiast, a young talent supporter or someone just looking for a captivating cinematic experience, the Golden Lion Awards SFF is an event you do not want to miss. Get ready for the 2025 show where you will see awe-inspiring films and help to celebrate budding filmmakers.
As the festival showcases the exceptional creativity and storytelling of young filmmakers, it’s a reminder that the future of cinema is in talented hands. Come and witness the magic of the silver screen and be part of a vibrant community that fosters the next generation of cinematic storytellers. We’ll see you there!
After Golden Lion Awards Student Film Festival… Students Share Success Stories
Maria Alvarez
from Cleveland
Current: Director, Editor, Writer
2015 Best of Show/Golden Lion Winner, Narrative Film Category, “The Waiting Game,” Junior High Judge
Beachwood High School, Class of 2015; Cannes Film Festival 2017 Selection, “Celine”; University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts BFA Film & Television, Class of 2019
“When I came to the Golden Lion Film Festival, I was in awe of all the young filmmakers who shared my passions. After my films had screened and received awards at the festival, so many young filmmakers came up to me and told me that I was their inspiration to keep going and pursue filmmaking. To hear compliments like these is not only extremely rewarding, but it also gives me a sense of determination to pursue filmmaking not only for myself, but for other people as well.”