UCA graduate nominated for Academy Award
A graduate from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) at Farnham has been nominated for an Oscar.
Grant Orchard's film A Morning Stroll is shortlisted for Best Short Film (Animated) at the 84th Academy Awards which will take place in Hollywood on 26 February 2012.
Grant, who is 39 and graduated from UCA Farnham's BA (Hons) Animation degree in 1995, said: "It's absolutely amazing to be nominated but slightly unreal.
"The Oscars are one of those events that you see on TV from when you're very little. Being nominated is one of those unrealistic childhood ambitions that rank alongside becoming a spaceman, so when it actually happens years later it feels very strange.
"I'm really looking forward to the whole Oscars adventure. I'm feeling surprisingly confident about walking down the Red Carpet alongside the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt – I reckon I can turn and pose with the best of them – gulp!"
A Morning Stroll, which tells the story of one New Yorker's early morning encounter with a chicken using traditional 2D animation and 3D computer techniques, has already won a BAFTA Award in the same category.
"It's amazing to be this close to an Oscar," Grant added. "I've never been to Hollywood before and I've always wanted to visit some of the big studios out there but, like the BAFTAs, I don't want to get too excited about winning because it might not happen.
"Just being nominated though is fantastic, not just for me but for the production company Studio AKA. We worked hard on it, without any budget, so hopefully this will help us get some interest in future projects, which would be great."
An Academy Award for Grant Orchard in Hollywood next month would be the fifth Oscar to be won by a UCA graduate.
UCA Farnham alumni Suzie Templeton (2008), Michael Dudok de Wit (2000) and Daniel Greaves (1992) all won Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, while UCA Canterbury alumnus, Arnold Schwartzman OBE RDI, won Best Documentary Feature in 1982.
BA (Hons) Animation course leader, Lesley Adams, said: "Everyone on the Animation Course is very proud of Grant's Oscar nomination. The degree at UCA Farnham has produced three Oscar-winners so far and we would love Grant to join that special list.
"We are looking forward to welcoming Grant back to UCA after the Academy Awards ceremony when he will be giving a lecture to our current students. Hopefully, he'll be showing off his Oscar as well as his film."
The animator, who produced the film alongside Sue Goffe at Studio AKA, is grateful for what he learned during his time at UCA.
"The Animation course at UCA Farnham was a brilliant platform," he added. "Narrative, narrative, narrative as we used to get taught, still stays with me today."
The 84th Academy Awards take place on Sunday 26 February 2012 at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood. They will be presented by actor and comedian Billy Crystal.
For more information contact:
David Reilly, Press Officer, UCA
T: 01252 892939
E: dreilly@ucreative.ac.uk
