Best High School Short Film
Roadrunners
Directed by Charles Reade, Roy Gentes
Two young boys embark on a road trip to escape the tedium and predictability of their lives
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The Artist
Directed by Peggy Chen
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Creature Feature
Directed by Andrew Ramon
A student film crew shoots a movie in an abandoned house, when one of them gets possessed.
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Blank Slate
Directed by Jamie Jarvis-Stores
A mannequin gets lost in the snow
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The Typewriter
Directed by Eli Berliner
A man finds a magical typewriter that grants wishes.
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FRIDAY
Directed by Hudson Flynn
A typical day for a teenager reveals itself to be anything but. This high school drama reflects a common paranoia among students in the US.
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Ghost
Directed by Drew Mette
An angel guides a ghost as he struggles to find his purpose and meaning in life.
Absolution
Directed by Lauren Rutledge, Frederick Raske, Christian Sladovich
A young woman enters into a chess battle with her biggest enemy, who she refuses to lose against again.
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Forgotten Objects
Directed by Jonah Bingham
I strive to make films that make you feel like the only thing that matters, are feelings themselves.
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Blue Circle
Directed by Dylan Coty
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Beach Fog
Directed by Sabrina Layman
The ocean tides are meant to heal a wounded heart. A mother and teen daughter stay in an oceanfront home to help make peace of their new circumstances. The mother suffers from intentional forgetting, wavering back and forth between her real life and fictional life, and Gertie, the daughter, tries to stay strong while her own emotional turmoil is simmering just beneath the surface. Gertie has to be the grown up while her mother is too distraught and oblivious to their dire situation to do anything productive. The truth, as harsh as it may seem, will ultimately set them free and on the path to re-making their lives.
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Quarantine Superhero
Directed by Starla Bollé
The time of social distancing throws a superhero vs. super-villain battle for a loop, forcing them to take a new look at their rivalry in this genre twisting short film.
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Airstream
Directed by Gabi Bernstein
A girl is tasked with repairing an old RV in an attempt to reconnect with her estranged parents in a dystopian near-future.
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Adelphes
Directed by Athena Stuebe
Adelphes, or sisters in greek, is a personal narrative about sisterhood and its impact on a girl. One of the most complex and intricate things on this planet is the relationship between a girl and her sister. Growing up with a sister means brutally hating the person you love most in the world, and seconds later, making up so she’ll let you borrow her top. Adelphes is a story of a young girl seeking the guidance of her older sister, only to end up becoming that herself. Societally, we’re forced to fall into certain boxes that can’t go unchecked. Logan is forced to grow up because her sister won’t, and someone needs to be the mature one. But more than that, its a tale of growing up, the real stuff we deal with as teens. It makes us stronger, but can’t help but mess with our heads a little. Maybe the people we look up to aren’t so infallible.
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Gone Away
Directed by Grant Wild
A story of loss, Gone Away follows a young boy, not yet understanding of the concept of death, who is sent to live with his grandmother after the untimely passing of both of his parents. After another tragedy unfolds, unbeknownst to him, he must go on this journey of grief along a different route.
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In My Arms I Carry
Directed by Leila Edelstein
A mother enduring the pain of grieving her own child.
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Where Does Innocence Go?
Directed by Ellery Futch
This short film explores the loss of innocence that teenagers face because of social media. The ides that young children are beginning to lose their innocence more quickly due to the harsh reality of social media. It is a short film with a powerful visual story accompanied by an emotion-filling poem.
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Weird To Be Normal
Directed by Ellery Futch
During the crazy year of 2020 so much has happened. This particular film focuses on a high schooler going back to school, but now in a COVID world. It's full of masks, rules, boundaries, and isolation. This film captures what it feels like to go back to school as a high school student in this crazy time.
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R.A.T.S: Regional Academia for Talented Students
Directed by Nathan Race
Based off of the Harry Potter Universe, 3 magical students are sent to a human school as of result of their prior actions.
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Angora
Directed by Galen Cunningham, Hailey Roberts
David, a paranoid high schooler, finds himself surrounded by mysterious stuffed rabbits. His curiosity doesn't end until he is face to face with their sinister source.
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James & Julia
Directed by Nic Chang
James, a teenage boy, attempts to overcome his guilt and reconcile his relationship with Julia before it's too late.
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So You Wanna Play The Game of a Genie?
Directed by Isabella Meilan
A struggling writer seeks some unconventional help to finish her collection of short stories before a crushing deadline.
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In The Weeds
Directed by Nick Milczarczyk
A teenage girl suspects a local gardener's involvement in the unsolved disappearance of their childhood friend.
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ENYO
Directed by Arne Christiansen
A man stumbles upon a blind artist who draws a picture depicting his death.
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Out of Breath
Directed by Arman Taheri
In post-COVID era Shaker Heights, Ohio, four students go to a 8th grade reunion. But all is not what it seems as they find out the true purpose of the gathering.
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The Winner
Directed by Caroline Locke
A short film about a Florida man who wins a scratch-off lottery ticket at his local convenience store. After encountering a needy family, he must make a pivotal decision.
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See Through Me
Directed by Jade Missy Kim
3 teens try to figure out who they are while struggling with the invisible battles of anxiety, insecurity and and self image.
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My Best Friend
Directed by Benji Tucker
A delirious young boy, who believes he has brought his best friend back from the dead, struggles with accepting life for how it is.
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Marked
Directed by Samantha Cohn, Madeline Simpson
"Marked" centers around a teenager and his friends after his encounter with a mysterious man who commits suicide in front of him. The film follows his friends as they investigate the tragedy.
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Disowned
Directed by Andrew Stevens
The relationship between a son, his father, and his cello comes to a head one treacherous night as the son’s choice to abandon his father leads him on a stirring journey into the unexpected through grief and guilt before ending in redemption.
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Code Red
Directed by Ella Janes
Life is never easy in middle school, especially for Kiara, who gets her first period at the most unforgiving time, during lunch in the middle school cafeteria, while her mom is in jail.
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The Humanity Test
Directed by Samuel Mitchell, Lily Kaplan
The year is 2058, and the global population is currently 2.6 billion thanks to the implementation of the Humanity Test. Global-citizens that receive a passing humanity score will then retake the test every subsequent 25 years until their death. If a global-citizen fails the Humanity Test at any point, they are immediately terminated.
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Best High School Documentary
Dementia
Directed by Bella Merlino
A documentary on dementia.
If anyone has ever experienced the effects that dementia has on a person you will understand how terrible this disease is on the victims of dementia and upon their loved ones.
This documentary shows that whilst dementia can take away almost everything from the victim, it fails to steal the love others have for them.
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Think Like A Filmmaker
Directed by Eli Berliner
Eli Berliner turns the camera on his father, Alan, an personal documentary filmmaker, whose new body of work approaches sculpture through the eyes of a filmmaker.
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Painting Flowers Again
Directed by Hudson Price
A short documentary exploring the relationship between activism and art.
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Edmond Wysinger Documentary
Directed by William Youngquist
Early California Pioneer Edmond Wysinger started out as a Slave and paid for his freedom during the California Gold Rush. Later he migrated to Tulare County to raise his family. He wanted his son to attend the local school and was turned away. He took his case to the local County courts and lost. Later, he won in the California Supreme court case that ended segregation in California.
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Trapped in the Tank
Directed by Dominic Trapani
my music vid displays the city of San Jose, mainly the east side, and talks about how one day the people in the east side will take over and push out the gentrifiers, but until that day comes, we still remain "trapped in the tank" the tank being the city of San Jose
And The Journey Begins
Directed by Ricardo Tovar
My film, And The Journey Begins, is about motivating other players to play the sport even when it gets rough.
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The alabaster awakening
Directed by Brian Diaz
Time is something we never get back
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The Start
Directed by Diego Lazaro
My film, The Start, is about how not to give up on your dreams and hopefully, my film inspires students to cut hair.
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Christ School vs. COVID
Directed by Tobenna Okoli, Gabe Fricks-Starratt, Matthew Sorrells
​"Christ School vs. COVID" documents a day in the life of a North Carolina boarding school amidst a global pandemic. Inspired by the "town films" of the 1930s, the film showcases the resiliency and determination of our school community with a sense of humor and entertainment. The battle is not over, but Christ School persists.
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Taking a Seat for Justice: The 504 Sit-in
Directed by Thomas Huang, Allen Tang, Andrew Wang, Andrew Yu, Rohin Garg
Our documentary focuses on the 504 Sit-in, a groundbreaking event that had an instrumental role in spearheading the disability rights movement. The sit-in led to the signing of the 504 regulations and increased disability accommodations, creating a massive ideological shift in society that paved the way for future legislation that would help millions. Our documentary highlighted the three primary ways that the 504 Sit-in exhibited communication: the non-violent protests allowed the disabled to express their frustrations, national media attention changed public perception, and political pressure gave them a voice in the government. The communication was key for the nation in understanding the struggles that the disabled faced.
The Offline Experiment
Directed by Colin Yuan
Since the advent of social media, it has become an integral part of our lives. Today's teens, hyper-connected and digitally adept, have enthusiastically latched onto this technology - but not without its positive and negative consequences. To explore teenagers' relationship with social media, we asked three high-school students to lock their phones in a box for one week and recorded their reactions.
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Riding Towards Tomorrow: Driving to Change the Future
Directed by Kiersten Harder
Advocating for for motorcycle safety and driver awareness in memory of Jarrod Naberhaus.
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Día de los Muertos
Directed by Cortez K. Campos
Every year, on November 2nd, Mexico celebrates Día de los Muertos (The Day of The Dead). On this day, streets blossom with flowers, skeletons walk among us, and parades overrun the cities as residents honor their dead families.
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Best High School Experimental
Ghost
Directed by Drew Mette
An angel guides a ghost as he struggles to find his purpose and meaning in life.
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Cross Currents
Directed by Eli Berliner
A stop motion animation finds beauty, abstraction and movement in static electronic circuitry.
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Pressure
Directed by Ayana Ahuja
This music video/experimental short shows a young girl who feels forced and pushed into one direction by a ghost but also feels lonely and alone without that pressure. The story tells a larger story of society about people who feel trapped by pressure but also feel unsure without it, but the story is open to interpretation based on one's personal experiences with pressure. The music is a classical, student composed piece with a fast-paced tune and a balance of different instruments. I came up with this idea by listening to the music on repeat until I felt a certain emotion, and tried to convey that through video.
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100% Girl
Directed by Chen Liangyu
The difference between men and women creates the most difficult battlefield in the world.
Magical kitchen appliances try to do a little magic to fight for peaceful and sweet life.
Best High School Movie Poster
Creature Feature
Directed by Andrew Ramon
A student film crew shoots a movie in an abandoned house, when one of them gets possessed.
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Absolution
Directed by Lauren Rutledge, Frederick Raske, Christian Sladovich
A young woman enters into a chess battle with her biggest enemy, who she refuses to lose against aga
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Out of Breath
Directed by Arman Taheri
In post-COVID era Shaker Heights, Ohio, four students go to a 8th grade reunion. But all is not what it seems as they find out the true purpose of the gathering.
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See Through Me
Directed by Jade Missy Kim
​3 teens try to figure out who they are while struggling with the invisible battles of anxiety, insecurity and and self image.
Best High School Music Video
UNKNOWN (House of Tragedies)
Directed by Youssef Fadel, Zachery Grew
Music video / PSA suicide awareness.
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Trapped in the Tank
Directed by Dominic Trapani
My music vid displays the city of San Jose, mainly the east side, and talks about how one day the people in the east side will take over and push out the gentrifiers, but until that day comes, we still remain "trapped in the tank" the tank being the city of San Jose.
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X-Ray
Directed by Martaize Smith
Music Video for Moyana Olivia's Song "X-Ray". The song was written to raise awareness to racial injustice and encourage people to take tangible action against police brutality by voting and speaking out. The Video was inspired by and involved footage from uprisings and protests in Minneapolis,Minnesota in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
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Best High School Animation
DELIVERY
Directed by Adam Chawdhury
A lone spaceman engages in an interplanetary race against time.
Finding Purpose
Submitted by James Kirby
2D Animated short (without dialogue)-- A man is stuck in his routine & struggles to find purpose.
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Wendigo
Directed by Max Hendrickson
A man investigating an old isolated house discovers its sinister history.
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I Wish
Directed by Leanne Lin
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Best High School Movie Still Shot Moment
-Winner-
See Through Me
Directed by Jade Missy Kim
​3 teens try to figure out who they are while struggling with the invisible battles of anxiety, insecurity and and self image.
Best High School Trailer - Winner -
B1 - The Awakening
Directed by Thomas I Parrish V
On a planet 100 light years beyond the galaxy's outer-rim, B1 tells a story of a young boy GiuwDaan B1 who discovers his world's most valuable resources are being harvest by off-worlders.
He partakes on a journey of discovery and builds a small team of allies who help to save their planet from certain destruction.