AUC Faculty And Students Shine In Media Arts Festival
March 20, 2024 – Five women from The American University in Cairo: Four students and one faculty member have been recognized by the 2024 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts. The winners, who have showcased exceptional talent and dedication in their respective fields, include Kim Fox, professor in AUC’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication; Vereena Bishoy, an undergraduate student of multimedia journalism and psychology and Haidy Kandil, Nariman Hafez and Aya Nashed, graduate students at AUC’s Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism. The prestigious annual event celebrates excellence in media production and serves as a platform for students, faculty, and professionals from academic institutions worldwide to showcase their creative works and research in various categories, including audio, video, film, documentary, and interactive media. This year, submissions were from more than 300 participating schools and almost 1,900 entries.
Kim Fox was honored with an Award of Excellence in the Short-Form Production Category for her project titled "The Egyptian Female Podcasters Podcast." This accolade marks Fox's 12th triumph at the BEA Festival of Media Arts since 2019. Commenting on her accomplishment, Fox said: "Producing audio stories is something that I enjoy doing. It's nice to receive the BEA awards for recognition of my hard work, but also in the hopes that the stories will, perhaps, reach a larger audience."
Vereena Bishoy, the only undergraduate winner from AUC this year, was recognized for her radio feature, "Maggie Michael's Road from Cairo to Yemen to a Pulitzer," produced as part of her Audio Production class under the guidance of Professor Fox. Praising Bishoy's work, competition judges commended her for "clever writing, great interviews, engaging delivery, and solid audio production."
Verneena commented on the award, saying, “This piece has a very special place in my heart, award or not. It took a lot of time and effort to bring my vision to life, and it was a great learning curve for me. Looking back at it, it was a beautiful journey. I also got to do it about someone I idolize in the field, which is a dream. So, getting the opportunity to speak with her was a turning point for me as an aspiring journalist."
Meanwhile, Haidy Kandil of Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism's Master of Arts program, secured third place in the Graduate News Competition for her story, "Tahla's Nets," and second place in the Documentary category for her compelling narrative, "People of Al-Kaaby." Commenting on her achievement, Haidy noted: “I only wanted to do something that I’ll enjoy while shooting not caring very much about whether I’ll win or not and I think this is what made the awards extra special. Thankful to all my TVDJ professors, AUCTV Team and my family for their constant support and guidance, I couldn’t have made it without them.”
Similarly, Kamal Adham Center’s graduate students Nariman Hafez and Aya Nashed each received Awards of Excellence in the Graduate Documentary Competition for their impactful documentaries, "Ladies of the Palace" and "Musakanat Al Rouh-Rosaries for Zen," respectively. The projects, crafted as part of the Digital Journalism Capstone course under the mentorship of Hussein Amin, director of the Kamal Adham Center, reflect the students' dedication and creativity in the realm of media arts. “It will be wonderful to see the graduate students of the Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism wave AUC's flag at the prestigious Broadcast Education Association while they receive distinguished global awards at the 2024 Festival of Media Arts during the BEA/National Association of Broadcasters convention activities in Las Vegas Convention Center, Nevada," said Amin.
The BEA’s Festival of Media Arts provides a prestigious opportunity for individuals to gain recognition for their achievements, receive feedback from industry experts, and network with peers and mentors. Entries are judged by a panel of esteemed professionals, and winners are honored with awards and recognition for their outstanding contributions to the field of media arts.