Lee submitted his master’s thesis film “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads,” starring Monty Ross, to the Student Academy Awards. The Student Academy Awards may not be as glitzy or high profile as the Oscars, but in its 50 years it has proven to be a vital launching ground for emerging filmmakers. Inclusion and access may sound like recent buzzwords, but the film academy has been striving to break down barriers to entry for decades. “Once your name is tied to a Student Academy Award, it just opens all of these doors,” Carter said. Like Lee did four decades earlier, he applied to the student academy awards while studying at NYU.

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Persons: Spike Lee, Lee, ”, Monty Ross, Walter Mirisch, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker, Patricia Riggen, Bob Saget, Patricia Cardoso, “, Kendra Carter, ” Carter, Lachlan Pendragon, ” Pendragon, Giorgio Ghiotto, ” Ghiotto Organizations: New York University, Student, NYU Locations: Australian, Italy, Los Angeles