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Best High School Short Film
The Lockwood House
Directed by Emmerson Perdue
Two sisters must try to survive the night in the mysterious Lockwood House. The only thing stranger than the house itself is the brother and sister who live there.​
Perfect
Directed by John Taylor
An artist struggles with the consequences of perfectionism in his paintings and in his romantic life.
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Invisible Gun
Directed by Reese Robers
In this homage to film noir, Rocco tries to make a tough sell to Lucky Vince: a gun that no one can see.
How to Survive Your First Date
Directed by Reese Robers
In this dark parody of 1950's instructional films, Dotty and her date Darryl try to survive against the voyeuristic narrator manipulating them.
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The Audition
Directed by Eli Berliner
A young pianist makes a startling discovery while painting that changes his relationship to music forever.​
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Between The Lines
Directed by Dashiell Raimi
Needing an escape from a difficult family life, a boy turns to art -- and in doing so, stumbles upon a dark power.​
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Elpis
Directed by Qiaorui Zhao
Spatiotemporal Disorder
Directed by Jiarui Wu, Yanhe Zhu
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Cliché
Directed by Niamh Collins
Joe isn't satisfied in his life. Luckily, there's plenty of advice going around.
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Voice
Directed by Sophia Winters
A young teen girl becomes aware of who she wants to be and her perception of what is keeping her from becoming that person. These feelings lead her to become frustrated, jealous, and perhaps even hopeless. Her frustration with her own real limitations and real and perceived exclusion leads her to take extreme action. Voice was written and produced to be a thought provoking experience that is different for every viewer.
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Waiting for Daniel
Directed by David Lilien
A teenager grapples with the loss of a close friend.
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​CONTINUITY
Directed by David Lilien
After a series of odd and indescribable alterations to the world impacts a presumably normal lunch date, John and Jane soon learn a horrifying truth: they are stuck within a film, where every aspect of their interaction has been controlled by an editor stringing together clips in an editing software.​
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Still Wanted
Directed byBrian Peveler
An ordinary man in the American old west is faced with being convicted of a crime he did not commit. He must fight his way to get his name cleared.​
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Up In Smoke
Directed by Ronald Jabouin
It's senior year, John and his friends have planned the perfect prank. That is until it all comes to a screeching halt. Who will be laughing when everything goes Up In Smoke?
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The Properties of Sunflower
Directed by Ellery Futch
The Properties of a Sunflower is a 5 minute student film. This film explores concepts such as bereavement, denial, loss of control, and acceptance through the motif a bouquet of flowers.
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The Last Platoon
Directed by William Bakshi Yudis
After a pandemic destroys the US economy and kills most of the population over 30. The movie takes place in Maui during a bloody civil war raging on in Hawaii. It follows a group of teenage soldiers as they fight for the KAR resistance hoping to stop the government's brutal forces. After the loss of an important general on the front lines, headquarters decides to send their remaining reinforcement squads to the front. Squad 7, a rowdy group of Hawaii teens, is sent on a journey that will bring them directly to the front lines. Changing the fate of the war forever.
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Succession
Directed by James Peng
Xiao is a surly Chinese teenage boy who believes that he does not need a college education to achieve his dreams in life. His parents, meanwhile, are desperate to give their son a good education and a stable future.
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​Straight-Acid
Directed by Simon Nigam
A group of straight-a students start an at-school drug trade to afford a summer program.​
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Wounds
Directed by Drew Mette
A lost cowboy wanders through the desert trying to find his way out, however, he is faced with adversity at every step.
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​Pho
Directed by Ethan Chu
After building a seemingly successful life, a man must come to terms with the melancholic truth that he has detached from his Vietnamese culture and subsequently his grandmother, both of which he once held a close relationship with. His grief pushes him through a journey of reflection which reveals to him the perfect recipe to restore the once lost connection.​
Sparire
Directed by Clarissa Rosen
Film from a garage sale erases the subjects from the photographs, and in real life too.​
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Behind the Bathroom Door
Directed by Lisa Krestianinova
This short film is a cut from life, a glance behind the curtain on what's like to be an assigned female at birth person in high school. It does this through the raw point of view of a bathroom stall. Seven girls and one transgender guy are all interconnected by this seemingly not interesting place.​
How It Is Now
Directed by Olivia Martinez
As the times change, so do the ways we do everyday tasks such as school. How it is Now is a short film about the internal struggle that the changes of online school brings and how it affects an honor student.
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Best High School Documentary
Aaron and the Train
Directed by James Hsieh Bylinsky
In this documentary, Aaron Paul, a multiracial 14 year old student describes his commute to Canarsie, Brooklyn and how that relates to his and other kids contemporary racial experience.
Two Americas
Directed by Asher Elias Anantham
We explore the impact of past and present Federal housing policy on racial segregation.
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Laddoo
Directed by Sanay Saboo
Amidst a country teeming with stray dogs, one woman and her community seek to fight back.
The Gumball Machine
Directed by Bryan Kim
The Beauty Conversation
Directed by Karis Lai
Documentary featuring 11 teenage girl interviewees on the effect of the American Beauty Standard and beauty-based societal issues. Includes anonymous survey responses and conceptual self portraiture.
Collective
Directed by Kaylee Futrell, Serenity Martin
"Collective" is a student documentary that highlights five individual collectors and their collections. With the use of stop motion animation, interviews, personal stories, and on location filming, "Collective" explores people’s different passions and the things that they collect, while simultaneously focusing on the diversity between collections and how they bring us together. After viewing this film, you'll find yourself thinking about your own collections in a new perspective.
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The Reason
Directed by Joshua Avishay Young
The story of how a friend, coach, & son inspired a high school baseball team to win their first-ever State Championship as a #24 seed.
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The Dilemma of Extra-Curricular Institutions in China
Directed by Huanshuo Wang
China now has over 200,000 extra-curricular institutions, and extracurricular education has become an integral part of Chinese students' study and life. However, its commerciality, training system, and teaching methods have led to significant controversy. Through interviews with students and teachers, this documentary focuses on the present state of extracurricular education in Shenzhen, China and discusses its development and essential place in Chinese education.
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The STARS Program
Directed by Arielle Vidalina Borges
The STARS Program video is an informational documentary. It serves the purpose of providing a medium to inform parents, educators and the community, about an innovative life changing program for young adults with cognitive disabilities, to transition into the working world and learn practical life skills. There was a strong need to exhibit this information by actually filming the students and the employers, in order to help the parents fully understand the benefits of this program. It will also be used as a way to engage potentail employers.
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Healthiest Kid Alive
Directed by James Peng
The night before I headed to boarding school last year, my parents pulled me aside and told me that when I was born, I had a hemangioma - a benign, blood-red tumor - on the side of my face. My parents spent many stressful months debating how best to proceed, navigating the Chinese healthcare system which, at the time, did not offer great solutions. I was shocked — I had always considered myself a perfectly healthy kid. I was proud of my perfect attendance record at school. Through discussion with my parents, I was able to learn more about this important piece of my appearance and identity, understand better the frustrations they felt along the way, and appreciate their sacrifices on my behalf even more.
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Bird Lady
Directed by Carter Rostron
In this short documentary, Kansas City filmmaker Carter Rostron explores the mystery surrounding a statue that has become known as the “Bird Lady.” For years, an assortment of small ceramic birds and other figures have appeared around the base of the statue. The documentary explores what’s been happening, what it means, and how it has become a beloved part of neighborhood folklore.
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No Ordinary Time
Directed by Lotus Porte-Moyel, Hadley Pearson, Mara Flynn
No Ordinary Time focuses on the overlooked impact of the Spanish Flu pandemic on Montana, one of the hardest-hit states with the country’s third-highest mortality rate, through the lens of high school students currently experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Little Swimmers
Directed by Katie No
Kevin Little, a swimming coach of about 10 years at Irvine NOVAquatics, shares his story as a mentor in the lives of pre-teen swimmers.
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Pollution Solution
Directed by The Bum Family
A short documentary that explores what people are doing about pollution. Made by a group of 6 young cousins who fear the world is ending due to human activity. By asking people how they address the pollution crisis in their everyday lives, and using animation to illustrate the responses, the filmmakers hope to inspire viewers to do their part in solving the pollution solution.
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Best High School Experimental
Aspects of my Gender
Directed by Olivia Martinez
A film about an experience with femininity, my gender expression, and the way the male gaze affects people’s views about their gender
Trip Switch
Directed by Sophie Virio
This film is representing what I feel during a panic attack, as expressed through a glitchy 80s video game. The cause of anxiety is unknown and confusing. Then suddenly it becomes a sensory overload....like a fuse with too much current.
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How to Find Love
Directed by James Hsieh Bylinsky
Tutorial of how to find love in simple step.
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MCM
Directed by Valencia Pitchford
An experimental dance project by Meado Cioccio, Caroline "CiCi" Hubbard and Malcolm Pitchford, Directed by Washington Elementary School 5th grader Valencia Pitchford.
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Catharsis
Directed by Liv Quintero
"Catharsis" explores feelings of intense emotions through cyclical elements. Using animation, double exposure, blending modes, and thread this experimental film is intended for the viewer to think deeply and interpret its conceptual ideas in a way that is uniquely personal to them.
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EXPEDITION
Directed by Milo Smith
Aliens come to planet Earth and witness its demise ..
The Control of Consciousness
Directed by Ellery Futch
The Control of Consciousness is a short experimental film. During its exhibition, it was projected onto a blank wall and played on loop. This film explored spired by the artists Bill Viola and Rachel Rose. This film explores the question of “can one's consciousness be controlled”. When exploring this question I began to gravitate towards social media control of consciousness. This film encapsulates how the internet affects all three definitions of consciousness being a) awareness b) experience and c) self-consciousness. These 3 definitions of consciousness are explored through various artistic choices such as pacing, lighting, sound, and more.
Fruit
Directed by Olivia Martinez, Mia Sanchez
A look into a teenager's mind as she struggles with an eating disorder and how that affects her perception of the relationships in her life.
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Elevator Beat
Directed by Alexsys Giraud, Aiden Hall
This film is representing what I feel during a panic attack, as expressed through a glitchy 80s video game. The cause of anxiety is unknown and confusing. Then suddenly it becomes a sensory overload....like a fuse with too much current.
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Best High School Movie Poster
The Slumber Symposium
Directed by Esteban Rodriguez, Samantha Gutierrez
This a Horror/Comedy shirt film from the Halloween themed film festival “Fright Night” at Doral Academy.
Wounds
Directed by Drew Mette
A lost cowboy wanders through the desert trying to find his way out, however, he is faced with adversity at every step.
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Best High School Music Video
One Day You'll Be Me
Directed by Savannah Schultz
An anti-bullying short film that tells kids and teens that it's okay to be who you are and everything will be okay.
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Major Tom
Directed by Kya Garner-Minnick
A young teen (Thomas) who tries to stay away from the dangers of a rough life, imagines he is an astronaut to escape his reality. But the more he struggles on earth, he finds himself lost in outer space.
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Best High School Animation
Junkyard King
Directed by Spencer Nicklaus, Griffin Slaughter, Frances Bach
The official trailer for Junkyard King, an original animated series created by Frances Bach, Leah Breyer, Spencer Nicklaus, and Griffin Slaughter. Thousands of years in the future, a group of ragtag kids and their mysterious leader, The King, live in an abandoned junkyard. The fiery Bingo (played by Alicyn Packard) and the resilient Gosha (played by Azat Sayadi) are The King's second-in-commands, who grow to learn that the only way to truly conquer a goal is to conquer it together.
"Illusion"
Directed by by Julie Zheng
My stop motion animation animation is about a girl addicted to the likes that she receives from social media and tries to create a perfect illusion of herself and her boyfriend online. She based her happiness on illusionary likes that she receives, but she must face the reality as the illusions eventually fades.
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The Oubliette
Directed by Max Hendrickson
After moving into a small apartment in a big city, a man notices strange and mysterious occurrences.
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Pastel Slough
Directed by Kiha Ahn
We all have the urge to fit in, to smudge the world on our face so we can fit in, to camouflage. You say to yourself that you'll always be there within, underneath that superficial world. But one day you wash off the blotches of society — you slough them off of your skin — and all you see in the mirror is your smudged self. But what's that? How does it feel more like you?
Grizz
Directed by Heath Grant, Shivnil Lal
After a young boys father passes away, his gift to his son comforts and looks after him in his fathers absence.
Ruth & Nick: A Confectionery Tale
Directed by Carter Rostron
This stop-motion animated short tells the bittersweet story of Nick, a piece of candy who falls in love with a girl who seems out of reach. This film was made by 15-year-old Carter Rostron of Kansas City, using cardboard, construction paper, and a bunch of candy.
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Best High School Scene in a Movie
Between The Lines
Directed by Dashiell Raimi
Needing an escape from a difficult family life, a boy turns to art -- and in doing so, stumbles upon a dark power.
CONTINUITY
Directed by David Lilien
After a series of odd and indescribable alterations to the world impacts a presumably normal lunch date, John and Jane soon learn a horrifying truth: they are stuck within a film, where every aspect of their interaction has been controlled by an editor stringing together clips in an editing software.
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Best High School Spoken Word Poetry Performance
Hereditary
Directed by Scott A. Galeski
A young teenage girl from Downriver Detroit Michigan shares her hardships in the poetic piece.
Away Yet Awake - The Immigrant Experience
Directed by Joyeuse Muhorakeye
A composite poem on on the immigrant experience written and performed by young refugees from Uganda, Burundi, Nepal and Syria.
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Iudicatus ('Judged')
Directed by AnnaSophia Nicely
Do you ever feel like you are being watched? Condemned and judged? You are. We choose to use our eyes as vessels of hate and judgement instead of experiencing the beauty surrounding us. The hate molds us to each other, destroying the individual. Will any part of us survive?
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Best High School Trailer - Winner -
Wounds
Directed by Drew Mette
A lost cowboy wanders through the desert trying to find his way out, however, he is faced with adversity at every step.
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