Category: Short Documentary

Festival: 10th Student Film Festival

Premiere Status: Los Angeles Premiere

Description/storyline of your film: Farmersville, a small town within the Central Valley, was once the subject of the Farmersville Film Project, a series of films aimed at supporting social progress. This documentary returns to the town with open questions rather than expectations, exploring how the community’s present compares with the expectations of voices from its past.

Director, Savannah Gasca, was born and raised in Farmersville, with a family who have lived in the town for generations. Growing up, she often struggled with pride in where she’s from because of the town’s name and overall reputation; it was typically the subject of jokes and ridicule. At the same time, she’s always felt a sense of belonging and attachment to this community, and she wishes to explore both the pride and challenges that come with being from Farmersville. She’s motivated to give voice to the lived experiences of her community, with the hope that this film sparks local conversations of pride, change, and expands pride to other small communities that may feel forgotten.

Director: Savannah Gasca

Producer: Yaretzi Alvarez

Writer: N/A

Cast: N/A

Cinematographer: Levi Yin

Editor: Abby Kottke

Any awards: N/A

Website: N/A

Instagram: @fromfarmersvilledoc

Your Film’s Trailer: N/A

Category: Documentary

Festival including number: 10th LA Student Film Festival

Your film’s premiere status: Not a Premiere

Description/storyline of your film:
Although I am ethnically Indonesian Chinese, I grew up far from Indonesia and have always felt like an outsider to the culture that was supposed to be mine. This summer, I returned and visited the Inner Baduy Tribe, a community often described as isolated, anti-technology, and resistant to modern life.

But once I entered their world, I found something more complex. The Inner Baduy live by deep spiritual discipline and respect for nature. Beyond the forest boundaries, the so-called “Outer Baduy” are already engaging with mobile phones, solar energy, and the internet. What I once imagined as rejection now looked more like balance.

Through personal reflection and intimate encounters, this documentary traces my journey from misunderstanding to connection. It questions how we define progress, knowledge, and belonging in a world that constantly redraws its borders.

Director: Maxwell Wijaya

Producer: Maxwell Wijaya

Writer: Maxwell Wijaya

Cast: N/A

Cinematographer: Maxwell Wijaya

Editor: Maxwell Wijaya

Any awards, accolades or additional details about the process you would like to mention:
Award Winner, Oniros Film Awards® - New York; Official Selection, California International Shorts Festival; Official Selection, 10th Los Angeles Student Film Festival.

Website: N/A

Instagram: N/A

Twitter: N/A

Facebook: N/A

Your Film’s Trailer: N/A

Short

Description/storyline of your film: "Loves Me Not" is a gripping noir
film that follows Cleo and Tony, lovers entangled in a dangerous
heist. As they navigate crime and passion, the film explores the
complexities of love, loyalty, and personal agency. The narrative
unfolds with nonlinear flashbacks, culminating in a tragic
confrontation on a desolate highway. The diamonds they steal become
both symbols of aspiration and catalysts for conflict, leading to a
climactic and haunting departure.

Director: Oscar Jimenez

Producer: Isabel Escandon

Writer: Oscar Jimenez

Cast: Lani Stait (Cleo), Warren Mannegan (Tony)

Cinematographer: Natalie Corral

Editor: Noah Pierce, Nirvan Valecha

Website: oscarjimenezromo.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9iRXwF_02w

 In Her Words: Defying Institutional Sexism

Documentary Short

10th LA Student Film Festival

World Premiere (never been screened before)

 In Her Words is a short-film documentary highlighting Alice Toy, an immigrant Chinese war bride, and her experience of sexism, domestic abuse, and journey to independence.

Director: Evelyn Huie

Producer: Evelyn Huie

Writer: Evelyn Huie and Alice Toy    

Cast: Alice Toy    

Cinematographer: Evelyn Huie

Editor: Evelyn Huie

Instagram: @evelyn_huie_

Short

A troubled young person stumbles upon a mysterious lake that's waters reflect back a person's inner self. When they stare down at the water they see a woman staring back at them. Reaching out for the woman they fall into the lake. Hours later they are awoken by a stranger to find they have become the woman they saw in the lake. Although happy with their new self they soon come face to face with the struggles of their new life.

Director: Antonio Kirkpatrick

Writer: Antonio Kirkpatrick

Cast: Ethan Webb, Lain Steed, Robin Bazar, Jarett Witte

Cinematographer: Antonio Kirkpatrick, Jarett Witte

Editor: Antonio Kirkpatrick

Instagram: thekyeir

Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere

Only minutes from the luxury towers of Seoul’s Gangnam district lies Guryong Village, one of the city’s last remaining informal settlements. Through interviews with residents and experts, the documentary explores the community’s history and its continuing struggles with fires, flooding, redevelopment, displacement, and an uncertain future. The film asks audiences to look beyond Gangnam’s image of wealth and consider the people whose lives are often overlooked in the pursuit of urban development.
Director: Ethan Lee
Producer: Ethan Lee
Writer: Ethan Lee
Cast: Residents and community members of Guryong Village, Lee Myung Hun
Cinematographer: Ethan Lee
Editor: Ethan Lee

Guryong Village: The Last Shantytown of Gangnam received Third Place in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Speak Truth to Power Video Contest and was screened at the Tribeca Festival. The film was also selected for the MYTH Social Impact Film Award, New York Monthly Film Festival, Jersey Shore Film Festival, and Screen Test Student Fest.

I grew up in Gangnam, approximately ten minutes from Guryong Village, but knew very little about the community for much of my childhood. I created this documentary to better understand and amplify the experiences of residents whose lives are often obscured by Gangnam’s global image of wealth and development. The project seeks to humanize those affected by redevelopment and encourage viewers to consider what equitable urban progress should look like.
Instagram: ethan._.slee

Animation

Los Angeles Premiere

A young boy facing the end of his life is transported to a world of adventure on the high seas, where he encounters the real people his short life impacted.

Director: Kateri Esposito

Producer: Anthony Courser

Writer: Kateri Esposito             

Cast: Liam Mauti, Jim Morlino, Lisa Ruiter, Belle Cancellare, and Olivia Esposito

Cinematographer: Lucy Mae Nguyen

Editor: Isabella Velasquez

Animation Director: Clareanne Ysmael

This film took just under three years to make and is completely hand-drawn. 

Website: https://jpcatholic.edu/showcase/animation-gaming/the-heartbeat-of-the-sea/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_heartbeatofthesea/

Your Film's Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYWdWKDXJr

Animation, Short

A young boy grapples with the consequences of his actions and must choose between his wants or his father’s life. 

Director: Salina Tjhan

Producer: Salina Tjhan

Writer: Salina Tjhan

Cast: Sarah Donaldson, Ryan J. Nieto

A Woodcutter’s Promise is a short film around 1 1/2 years in the making that aims to explore a larger story about humans, giants, and the war for the sun. 

Head of Visual Design by Daelynn Meglasson, Head of Animation by Salina Tjhan, Original score by James Gaudi, Sound Design and Mixing by Jason Liang

Editor: Salina Tjhan, Lauren Roehl 

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/salinasanimationportfolio/project-beyond-the-sun 

Instagram: @animagicsalina

Short

World Premiere
The lives of a mysterious wanderer, a sharp-tongued waitress, and two good old folks intertwine in a saloon on the outskirts of the Texas desert in a story about drugs, redemption, violence and vice.

Director: Avi Lulba

Producers: Avi Lulba, Avi Gavrieli, Lior Oz

Writer: Avi Lulba

Cast: Ilan Jaffe, Rotem Alima, Michael Swack, Janine Strauss

Cinematographer: Yossi Ollech

Editor: Robert Dimitrov

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1169336222/ce048d0aed?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=c

Short

This film depicts an elderly woman with hearing impairment who sinks into silence and depression due to her inability to communicate with her family, as well as the various ways her loved ones show care for her. The movie aims to arouse wider public attention and compassion for elderly people living with disabilities.

Director: Xiaowen Zhang      

Producer: Xiaowen Zhang

Writer:  Xiaowen Zhang            

Cast: Chunyi  Lu, Suyang Yao

Cinematographer: Xiaowen Zhang

Editor: Xiaowen Zhang

Documentary, Short

Los Angeles Premiere

Constellations of the Sea is a high school student's debut documentary produced in collaboration with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP).

Working alongside the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), 17-year-old filmmaker Addie Knoll documents the scientific tracking and conservation of endangered whale sharks while exploring the challenges of protecting a species at the center of a global tourism industry. Blending field research with personal reflection, this debut documentary examines the intersection of conservation, science, and human activity in the Indian Ocean.

Director: Addie Knoll

Producer: Addie Knoll

Writer: Addie Knoll

Cinematographer: Addie Knoll

Editor: Addie Knoll

Constellations of the Sea has screened at film festivals across multiple continents and received recognition for its documentary filmmaking and environmental storytelling, including the Audience Choice Award at the Ocean Youth Eco International Film Festival (Hong Kong), Best Student Film at the Grand Cine Carnival Maldives, Best Student Filmmaker at the Eastern Europe Film Festival, Best Student Film at the Florence Film Awards, Best Documentary and Festival Favorite at the San Diego Young Filmmakers Festival, and the Award of Excellence (highest honor in the Youth Produced category) at the Nature Without Borders International Film Festival.

Website: www.constellationsofthesea.com

Instagram: @constellationsofthesea

Film Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISeMsTnyqfU

Short

USA Premiere

Young Fiona lives a sheltered existence. Hidden inside a small shack with her vigilant brother, Emmett, the two do the best they can with what they have. On this day, when Emmett leaves for work, a "Bad Lady” tricks her way inside, invading the space. The woman, a disturbing creature with cloudy eyes and erratic movements, hunts Fiona through the small home. Fiona manages to escape through a window, and chooses to continue forward, leaving the pain in the past.

Director: Alyson Phillips

Producer: Lily Unkelbach

Writer: Ava Grace Amore          

Cast: Evelyn (Evy) Phillips, Zoe Matney, Aidan Armstrong

Cinematographer: Ben Halfon

Editor: Ace Young

Any awards, accolades or additional details about the process you would like to mention:

- Directors Statement: Fiona is an all encompassing, full sensory experience about a 10 year old girl's perspective of grieving her mothers absence due to mental illness. It is the story of two siblings trying to fill the missing piece of their family as best they can. Though, at its core, this is the story of acceptance. I believe that children tend to lead with two major emotions other than joy. When there is something they do not understand in front of them they’re typically either curious, or afraid. Mental illness, along with grieving someone that is alive like they have passed on, is a complex situation that requires a certain level of understanding. A child may view these two complex things as scary, like a monster in the closet. That’s not mom. That’s the Bad Lady. 

- Logline: When 10 year old Fiona’s blue collar older brother and caretaker leaves for work, she is desperate to escape when faced with the “Bad Lady” who invades their mobile home.

Short
Los Angeles Premiere
As television eclipses live theater in the early 1950s, a headlining tap-dancing showgirl is offered a shot at national fame.

Director: Ariela Schneiderman
Producer: Ryann Rosenstein
Writer: Ariela Schneiderman            
Cast: Sarah Anderson, Jacob Hurst, Colette Rosario, John Cutolo, April Shaw, Thomas Van-Briggle
Cinematographer: Oliver Castillo
Editor: Marisa Molina

The first-ever musical thesis film at San Diego State University. Selected for a grant to build our set in the SDSU sound stage.
Instagram: homeentertainment.film

Your Film's Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGr0luIAlRw

Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere

This documentary interviews key staff members from the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz. It reviews different aspects of the program and how it assists the local community.

Director: Chloe Outten, Zakhar Mashkovtsev, Anabelle Bush
Producer: Chloe Outten, Zakhar Mashkovtsev, Anabelle Bush
Writer: Chloe Outten, Zakhar Mashkovtsev, Anabelle Bush            Cast: Pranav Parekh, Roman Gioglio, Mike Erikson, Alexis
Cinematographer: Chloe Outten, Zakhar Mashkovtsev, Anabelle Bush
Editor: Chloe Outten, Zakhar Mashkovtsev, Anabelle Bush