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Four students - one from each major region of the world - have been named first-place winners in the 2008 edition of the annual Kodak Filmschool Competition. The winners include Devendra Golatkar from the Film and Television Institute of India; Mateo Soler from the Universidad ORT Uruguay; Aonan Yang from Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Canada; and Amparo de Miguel Viguer of the Escuela de Cinematografia y del Audiovisual de la Comunidad de Madrid (ECAM) in Spain.

Now in its ninth year, the annual competition recognizes outstanding achievements in cinematography by student filmmakers.

Don Burgess ASC, a renowned cinematographer who judged several of the regional competitions, praised the winners for their sensitivity, artistry, and story-telling ability. "Golatkar's work had a strong use of light and shadow, a very natural quality, while Obispo's choice of lenses and composition made us feel the horror of the story," Burgess observed. "All submitted very thoughtful work."

The winners will receive a trip to the 2009 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival in France, where their films will be presented in the Kodak Short Film Showcase. The filmmakers also will participate in networking sessions and other activities which are part of the festival.

"The quality of the entries increases every year and that's gratifying for us to see," says Wendy Elms, worldwide Education Segment manager, Entertainment Imaging Division, Eastman Kodak Company. "By providing recognition of their work, we hope to encourage the next generation of cinematographers to pursue their passion to tell stories on film. This is one of many ways that Kodak supports students and film schools around the world."

This year, the student filmmakers tackled a diverse range of subject matter. Golatkar's Who Thought About Little Boy tackles the subject of children's rights; while Soler's Fine is the story of a man trying to escape the congestion of the universe. Singularity from Yang focuses on what happens when computers become superior to human intelligence; while Maneki Neko from Spanish filmmaker de Miguel Viguer is the story of a man who encounters conflict as his life is changed by a woman.

The Kodak Filmschool Competition is open to students and recent graduates in Asia, Latin America, Canada and the U.S., and - for the first time this year - Europe and the Middle East. Participants must first compete at a national level. Finalists are then judged for the top four spots. All entries must be produced on film by a student crew.

"Kodak gains as much from the competition as the students do," says Elms. "While we devote great resources in our laboratories to developing the next generation of films, this next generation of filmmakers shows us how they want to use that film. The more they challenge it, the more we challenge ourselves. And, through the process, we all get better at what we do."

Kodak is the world-class leader in providing film, digital and hybrid motion imaging products, services, and technology for the television, feature film, commercial, music video, documentary and exhibition industries. The company's educational programs have been supporting students and their mentors for over 16 years with educational materials, product grants, seminars/workshops, and initiatives such as the Kodak Filmschool Competition and emerging talent showcases.

For more information on the Kodak Filmschool Competition, visit www.kodak.com/go/filmschoolcompetition. For more information on Kodak motion picture film products and services, visit www.kodak.com/go/motion.