Prizes
Cinema Studies Writing Prizes
Prizes are competitive and not limited to cinema studies minors. Submissions are reviewed by faculty judges.
The program awards the winners during the college's Honors Day program in May, and prize winners’ names are also printed in the commencement program.
Submission Guidelines
Only one submission per student per category is allowed. Submissions may be from a current cinema studies class or independent study, or from a cinema studies class taken in a previous semester. Submissions may be edited beforehand, but cannot be edited once submitted.
Each submission must include a cover page with your full name, class year, the title of your piece, and which cinema studies class the piece was created for. Submissions are judged anonymously—include identifying information (name and class year) on the cover page only.
The 2023-24 deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 7, 2024 by 4:00 PM. Email all submissions to Cinema Studies Program coordinator Laurie Holland at lholland@bowdoin.edu. For Rosebud and Sunrise prizes, submit a pdf. For the Adventurer prize, submit a MP4, MP3, MOV, AVI file of, or link to, your work.
The Rosebud Prize is awarded to a member of the first-year class for the best essay written for a cinema studies class. Submissions should not exceed 20 pages in length.
The Sunrise Prize is awarded to a member of the senior class for the best essay written for a current or past cinema studies class or independent study. Submissions should not exceed 20 pages in length.
The Adventurer Prize, named for pioneering female director Alice Guy-Blaché’s lost 1917 film The Adventurer, is awarded to a student at any stage of their Bowdoin career for the best work of multimedia criticism submitted in a cinema studies class or independent study. Submissions for the Adventurer Prize should analyze cinema or television using multimedia approaches or formats such as the audiovisual essay, desktop documentary, or podcast, and should not exceed one hour in duration.
Past Winners
The Rosebud Prize
Awarded to a member of the first-year class for the best essay written for a cinema studies class
2021 Zander Ari Gillman '24
2020 Hadley Jevon '23
2019 Samantha Sackes '22 and Emily Staten '22
2018 Ayana Harscoet '21
2017 Alexandra Westfall '20
2016 Ivy Stella Elgarten '19
2015 Alexandra Moreno '18
The Sunrise Prize
Awarded to a member of the senior class for the best essay written for a current or past cinema studies class or independent study
2021 Max Thrush Hukill '21 and Alicia Echavarria'21
2020 Cameron Chertavian '20
2019 Andrew McGowan '19
2018 Rayne Kellen Stone '18
2017 Miranda Princi '17
2016 Marina Catherine Marlens '16
2015 Caroline Ferguson '15
The Adventurer Prize
Awarded to a student at any stage of their Bowdoin career for the best work of multimedia criticism submitted in a cinema studies class or independent study.
2021 Kate Aiello McKee '22