SAH Announces New Film and Video Award

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has established the SAH Award for Film and Video, which will recognize annually the most distinguished international work of film or video on the history of the built environment. The work will be judged for its contribution to the understanding of the built environment (defined either as deepening that understanding or as bringing that understanding to new audiences) a high standard of research and analysis and excellence in design and production.

The Award was made possible by a generous gift from an anonymous SAH member who enthusiastically supports recognition of excellent research and scholarship in the form of film or video.  The 2014 award will be presented during the SAH Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, and announced in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH), the SAH Newsletter and on the SAH website. The winning film or video will become part of the Society’s permanent archive, housed in the library at its headquarters, Charnley-Persky House, in Chicago. 

As SAH Executive Director Pauline Saliga commented, “I extend my sincere appreciation to our donor for establishing this award.  It has enabled SAH to add to our existing portfolio of prestigious awards for books and articles.  This sets a new direction for SAH and recognizes that architectural scholarship can take many forms.”

The award is global in scope with no geographic or political boundaries limiting subject matter or production team. The topic of the film or video must be any aspect of the built environment, including the history of buildings, interiors, monuments, landscapes, cultural landscapes, urbanism, designers, engineers, clients, preservation, conservation, citizen engagement or other topics related to the history of the built environment. Films and videos representing a wide range of methodologies will be considered, including documentaries, critiques, theoretical works and documentary recreations of lost sites. Films and videos, including those with a K-12 educational focus, by independent directors and producers also are welcome. Films or videos must have an initial release date within the past three years (2010, 2011 or 2012 for the inaugural 2014 award). Honorable Mentions may also be awarded.

Award applications will open on September 1, 2013 and close on December 1, 2013, with a decision being reached by February 1, 2014. Entries for consideration will be submitted on a DVD to the award committee and SAH by the director, producer or producer’s distributor. Nominees will also submit a 250-500-word narrative that addresses the goals of the film/video, the intended audience, where the work has been screened/aired/viewed and what kind of response the work has received.

For more information and to apply, visit http://www.sah.org/conferences-and-programs/awards-programs/sah-award-for-film-and-video.