PBS SoCal has revealed the judges behind the 26th edition of its “Fine Cut Festival of Films,” which annually recognizes the work of California student filmmakers and the short films they have created. The contest, which awards prizes worth more than $45,000, attracted 430 film submissions from students attending more than 53 schools across California.
According to PBS SoCal, that’s the most submissions ever to the festival competition. Winners were chosen by an industry panel of judges in the categories of documentary, animation and narrative, as well as the recipient of the event’s signature Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award, named after the Fine Cut founder.
This year’s judges included Emmy-winning director Mary Lou Belli (“Elsbeth,” NCIS New Orleans,” “Monk”), director of photography Doug Emmett (“Sorry To Bother You,” “The Edge of Seventeen,” “Presumed Innocent”), producers/founders of Three Frame Media Jaye and Adam Fenderson (PBS’s “The Class,” “First Generation,” “Unlikely”), writer/director/producer Liz W. Garcia (“Space Cadet,” “The Lifeguard,” “Cold Case”), story artist/writer/actor Michael Herrera (“Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical,” “Zootopia+”, “Encanto”), Starz program acquisitions & co-productions VP Michele Sanchez Arteaga (“This Changes Everything,” “Stranger Fruit,” “What Haunts Us”), writer/producer Eileen Shim (“The Acolyte,” “House of the Dragon,” “Light as a Feather”) and writer/director Echo Wu (“Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld,” “The Wishgranter”).
The honorees will be revealed during an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at the Eagle Theatre at Vidiots, located in Eagle Rock. Variety executive editor, TV, Michael Schneider and Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson will once again co-host the event.
Finalists in this year’s Fine Cut competition will be compiled into six one-hour episodes, set to be broadcast starting on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus (aka KCET). Films will also be available for streaming at pbssocal.org/finecut and on the free PBS app.
Winners will receive rental equipment, animation software, design tools and more. Also on tap, Fine Cut’s annual mentoring workshop on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Radford Studio Center. Participants include, on the directing/cinematography track: director Tessa Blake, director Marcus Stokes and cinematographer Felipe Vara De Rey. Writing/Producing mentors include writer/EP/ showrunner Vera Santamaria, writer/director Drew Hancock and showrunner/EP Dailyn Rodriguez. Animation track mentors include character designer Elsa Chang, art director Miguel Gonzalez and Jessie Juwono, the manager, artist management at Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios.
Per PBS SoCal, finalist films focused on topics such as “isolation, culture and determination.” Among finalist films, 61% came from female directors with 76% having at least one female producer and 6% of directors were transgender/non-binary. Also, 74% of the finalists included a lead character or main subject from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group and 67% of the directors were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.
Here’s a first look at the Fine Cut Festival of Films:
