Two UF alumni were awarded a Student Emmy for their thesis documentary, making it the third consecutive win for UF's Documentary Institute.
Chris Brannan and David Randag, graduates of the institute, were one of three groups awarded Emmys last week.
The documentary, "Standard Deviation," is about Billy Cottrell, a genius from Gainesville who was sentenced to eight years in jail on terrorism charges after setting fire to a Hummer dealership in California.
Out of 713 entries, Brannan and Randag were among three teams selected by the members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation to receive the award, said Debbie Slavkin, academy program manager. The other two teams were from the University of California, Berkeley.
The documentaries will be ranked first, second and third on March 21 at the 30th College Television Awards presented by the academy.
Since their graduation in 2008, the filmmakers have not stopped showing their film at festivals across the country, Randag said.
The documentary won in the student category at the 2008 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and in the short films category the 2008 Daytona Beach Film Festival.
It was also selected to be shown at the San Francisco Documentary Festival, according to the documentary's Web site.
With support from the Documentary Institute and a budget of about $5,500, the filmmakers were able to acquire material, interview sources in various cities including Chicago and Seattle and see Cottrell himself, Randag said.
The two filmmakers said they are excited about their win and eager to attend Emmy events, but there is an intimidation factor.
"We've got big shoes to fill," Randag said.
