For the first time ever, Villanova University students have won a student Academy Award in the Documentary/Domestic Film Schools category for their film, “Sankofa,” which explores mental slavery and its negative systemic impact on black males across the world, reports  Main Line Media News.

The Villanova team will travel Oct. 17 to Beverly Hills, Calif. to see if they will receive the gold, silver or bronze medal.

“Sankofa” was one of 16 winners from more than 1,600 entries around the world. The documentary is now eligible to compete for the 2019 Oscars in the Documentary Short Subject category.

Created and produced by 21 Villanova students under the name Riptide Pictures, “Sankofa” was shot on on location in Ghana and the U.S. during the fall of 2017.

Riptide Pictures was formed in Communication professor Hezekiah Lewis’ Social Justice Documentary course in the University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

““They have been on a historical journey and I am honored to be on this journey with them. Sankofa is a film that will challenge you and it takes a brave group of students to take on such a deep subject matter.” said Lewis, assistant professor of communication.

Read more about “Sankofa” here.

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