On Thursday, September 7, 2023, four Ringling College of Art and Design students and alumni were awarded the Barbara Caras Memorial Scholarship from the Sarasota Film Society. Film majors Gabriel Lopez ’24, Will Mauricette ’24, and Milena Montero ’24, were recipients, along with recent Computer Animation grad Zach Grzymala ’23, who received the award, but was unable to attend the event. The special ceremony for the award recipients was held at Sarasota’s Burns Court Cinemas. During the event, the audience had the chance to see work from each of the awardees as their short films were screened.

The Barbara Caras Memorial Scholarship is an annual award, established to assist students majoring in areas of film in our local community. It is named in honor of the late Barbara Caras, who dedicated many years to promoting film entertainment as the president and CFO of Sarasota Film Society, until her death in 2017. During her time at SFS, Caras helped many charities and organized community driven programming, like the Saturday morning sensory-friendly screenings for autistic children.

The application for the Barbara Caras Memorial Scholarship is due each year on July 31 and can be hand delivered to Burns Court Cinema or Lakewood Ranch Cinemas. Applicants must be a student at an accredited Florida college and reside in Sarasota or Manatee counties. You can find more information on how to apply on their website.