Congratulations to the winning films and filmmakers!
Best Film:
All We Know About IAN
Produced by Lance Yijin Lao
Written, Directed & Produced by Danming Niu
Best Director:
Brian A. Pollack for Mixology
Best Cinematography:
Joann Wong for A Poem from YiQing
Best Unique and Artistic Film:
A Poem From YiQing
Written, Directed & Produced by Rong Yan
Entertainment Studies Award:
Run Free
Co-Written, Directed, and Produced by Brandon Ravet
Co-Written by Phredley Brown
Produced by Caity Ware & Cameron Freeman
Best Film Made Under COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions:
Stranger in the Closet
Written, Directed & Produced by Robert Dill
Audience Choice Award:
Ayesha
Written & Directed by Shriya Rana
The sixth annual UCLAxFilmFest will take place virtually the weekend of August 27th – August 29th.
Presented by UCLA Extension’s Entertainment Studies programs, UCLAxFilmFest 2021 will celebrate a selection of exceptional short films, feature insightful industry panels, provide networking opportunities, and culminate in an awards ceremony.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
Best Film
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Unique and Artistic Film
Entertainment Studies Award
Best Film Made Under COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
Audience Choice
The winner of each award will receive free enrollment for any one (1) UCLA Extension class in any department. The winner of “Best Film” may use their one (1) free enrollment toward the Independent Study program where the winner will have the opportunity to work on their own film projects under the mentorship of a UCLA Extension instructor.
We also want to thank our UCLAxFilmFest Prize sponsors for 2021. This year, Final Draft is awarding all seven winners with the latest Final Draft Screenwriting Software. Our sponsor, Chemical Wedding is awarding their film director’s viewfinder app, Artemis Pro, and their cinematographer’s light simulation/sun tracking app, Helios Pro to all winners. Fox Entertainment is sending all seven winners a 4K Drone Camera and providing one winner per award with the opportunity to participate in a single-day set visit to one of their broadcast productions over the next year. During these visits, they will get to shadow a key person on the crew and learn more about show-making and storytelling. This shadowing opportunity is, of course, contingent on scheduling and availability, and as you might expect, comes with various conditions and limitations based on shooting locations and set restrictions, and all set visitors must pass background checks and follow current-day health and COVID protocols.
Congratulations to our UCLAxFilmFest 2021 Official Selections!
* Highlights Official Selections that were shot under the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic
A Poem from YiQing
Written, Directed & Produced by Rong Yan
Airway
Written, Directed & Co-Produced by Jessica Redish
All We Know About IAN*
Produced by Lance Yijin Lao
Written, Directed & Produced by Danming Niu
Ayesha
Written & Directed by Shriya Rana
Bathroom Window*
Directed by Julia Gil de Freitas
Written by B. Paolucci
Beauty and the East
Written & Directed by Dhruv Uday Singh
Champ 5
Co-Directed by Paul Gatto, David Jester, Kathleen Strouse
Produced by Kathleen Strouse
Don’t Leave Me*
Written, Directed & Produced by Juan P. Soto
Dreamer
Written, Directed & Produced by Vergi Rodriguez
Co-Directed & Co-Produced Diana Zollicoffer
Hello, My Sweet Boy
Written, Directed, & Produced by Raphaël Dirani
Love in Times of Quarantine*
Written, Directed & Produced by Maju Cancella
Meeting Mavis
Written by Jared Pascoe & Directed by Jared Pascoe and Jennifer M. Taylor
Mixology
Written & Produced by Matt Crosson
Directed & Produced by Brian A. Pollack
Produced by Sam Wickham
No Human Being is Illegal*
Directed by Samuel Villagra-Stanton
Red Watch
Produced by Cindy Wathen-Kennedy
Directed by David Kennedy
Written by & Starring Kyla Kennedy
Run Free
Co-Written, Directed, and Produced by Brandon Ravet
Co-Written by Phredley Brown
Produced by Caity Ware & Cameron Freeman
Stranger in the Closet*
Written, Directed & Produced by Robert Dill
The Only Beautiful Thing
Written & Directed by Elizabeth Irwin
Produced by Elizabeth Irwin, Rabia Sultana, & Mara Kassin
The Outcoming
Written & Directed by Maxim Varen
Produced by Maxim Varen & Michael Sasaki
Untwined*
Written & Directed by Alexandra Fehrman
The UCLAxFilmFest 2021 was made possible in part by generous sponsorship from:
