Marine Park student wins Television Foundation Award

Aleksandr Rikhterman takes top prize in reality series category

May 4, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Aleksandr Rikhterman was the toast of Tinseltown during his recent stay in Los Angeles.

Rikhterman, a Marine Park resident who is a senior at the State University of New York at Binghamton, won a College Television Award from the Television Academy Foundation. The College Television Award mirrors the Emmys. The coveted awards recognize excellence in student-produced entertainment and news content from college students all across the country.

The awards were handed out at the 36th Annual College Television Awards gala at the Skirball Cultural Center in L.A. on April 23.

Many of television’s hottest stars were on hand to present the awards to Rikhterman and the other winners. Among the presenters were: Sarah Paulson from “American Horror Story,” Justin Baldoni from “Jane the Virgin,” Benito Martinez from “American Crime,” Melanie Lynskey from “Togetherness” and Matt Bomer from “The Normal Heart.”

Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Mitchell Hurwitz whose groundbreaking shows have included “Arrested Development,” opened the awards show and was joined by show creators Steve Levitan of “Modern Family” and Nigel Lythgoe of “So You Think You Can Dance” to help present the awards. Spike Jones Jr. served as executive producer of the awards show.

Rikhterman took home top honors in the Series – Reality/Unscripted category for his series, “A Solo-Traveler’s Guide To: The World.”

This year, the foundation received more than 1,000 entries from 150 colleges nationwide.

The submissions were reviewed by members of the Television Academy, with the three-round judging process culminating in a blue ribbon panel to award First ($2,000), Second ($1,000) and Third Place ($500) prizes. Among the schools competing were the American Film Institute, Brigham Young University, Emerson College, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, University of Miami and SUNY Binghamton, where Rikhterman is a senior majoring in Cinema.

The Television Academy Foundation’s mission is to educate, inspire and empower those who will shape the future of television, according to a press release the organization issued.

“The College Television Awards provide us, as an industry, with the opportunity to celebrate storytelling and excellence in student work in all areas of television, from animation to drama,” said Norma Provencio Pichardo, executive director of the Television Academy Foundation.

The awards ceremony “once again proved that these talented students are poised to be tomorrow’s industry leaders,” she said.

The adventure-travel reality series for which he won his award is part of a recurring theme in Rikhterman’s work. The Marine Park resident has traveled all over the U.S. and has visited 14 countries. He regularly posts videos of his journeys on his website, www.greenmantravels.com.

In a recent interview with the website BUPipeDream, Rikhterman said his goal is to use his own solo travel experiences to encourage people to do some traveling themselves so that they could enrich their lives.

“I believe that people crave novelty,” Rikhterman told BUPipeDream. There are great experiences in life, “you can only get by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, by solo traveling to places that you don’t know, where you don’t know anybody, and for the most part, you don’t know yourself in that place,” he said.