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Every year, Kcet hosts its annual Fine Cut Festival of Films, a celebration of shorts and short filmmakers. In 2017, the Southern California public television station received over 3,000 global submissions from around the globe. Now, that number is down to 48 shorts that will be part of the “Fine Cut” broadcasts, beginning Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Pt on Kcet in Southern California and LinkTV across the country.

One of the film’s featured as part of this year’s program is “Hum,” which follows the story of a kitchen-cleaning robot who dreams of life beyond the walls of a grimy workspace. It’s a dialogue-free tale of technology, nature and hope. The “Hum” creative team was headed up by director Tom Teller, who is currently a student at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Teller received the Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award on behalf of...

After receiving over 3,000 submissions since December 2016, the 18th annual Fine Cut Festival of Films has selected its group of winners. This year’s finalists were selected from a juror made up of industry professionals, including critic Pete Hammond, Ida Executive Director Simon Kilmurry, actress Linda Cardellini, producer John Ptak, producer Effie T. Brown, IndieWire staff writer Steve Greene, director Javier Fuentes-Leon and filmmakers Corinne Marrinan and Chris Tashima.

The winners were as follows:

Student Filmmaker Award

“Door to Freedom”

Writer/Director: Jeremias Bayerl

Logline: What if the deepest issue of the refugee crisis is packed into the moral of a bedtime story? A drama, in which a boy has to escape from war and overcome several barriers in order to reach his goal, a wooden door, his only chance to freedom. A paradox world that is truly sad, finally revealing a bizarre surprise.

Viewers Choice Award

“The Outcast”

Director: Bucher Almzain

Writer: J. Scott Sibley,...

Coca-Cola and Regal Films announced today that the grand prize winners for the annual student film competition are Julian Conner and Tom Teller for “Crunch Time.” The 35-second film will play exclusively at Regal theaters nationwide.

The winners were announced at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of the motion picture theater community in Las Vegas, Nv. “Sneaky Pete” star Giovanni Ribisi was among the judges deciding the winner, as well as “The Avengers” star Clark Gregg, and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” director Richie Keen. The winning film was chosen based on select criteria: Creativity, creative fit, and entertainment value.

“As an actor and filmmaker, I understand the importance of real-world experience to develop your career,” said Ribisi of the importance of the competition. “Student film programs like what Regal and Coca-Cola have created offer a unique opportunity to learn in this way.”

Students from over 20 top colleges and university...

On the heels of last Wednesday’s announcement in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual film school rankings that Chapman University (where I am currently teaching) remains steady at #7, the Academy announced the finalists for the Student Academy Awards.

Chapman has three films that were selected.

Typically nominees in the Animation category are from the top animation schools such as Cal Arts and this year’s success suggests Chapman is joining those ranks.

2015 Student Academy Awards Finalists

Keep checking back to Oscars.org to find out the winners and get more information about Chapman’s awards ceremony on September 17, 2015.

Alternative

Daniel Drummond, “Chiaroscuro,” Chapman University

M. Louis Gordon, “Girl in the Chair,” Nyu Tisch School of the Arts

ChiHyun Lee, “Zoe,” School of Visual Arts

Balbinka Korzeniowska, “Awaken,” UCLA

David Karp, “Disconnected,” Cornell University

Animation

Jack Anderson, “Wire Cutters,” Chapman University

Lynn Tomlinson, “The Ballad of Holland Island House,” Towson University

Alyce Tzue, “Soar,” Academy of Art University

Nicholas Manfredi, Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, “Taking the Plunge,” The School of Visual Arts

Seth Boyden, “An Object At Rest,” California Institute of the Arts

Tom Teller, “Hum,” Chapman University

Jenna Hamzawi, “Ram's Horn,” Brigham Young University

Documentary

Emily Kassie, “I Married My Family's Killer,” Brown University

Alexandre Peralta, “Looking at the Stars,” University of Southern California

Dan Kerrigan, “Rise and Shine,” Villanova University

Elinore Wright, “In Transition: Tony Chennault,” Villanova University

Eddie Roqueta, “Silencing the Thunder,” Montana State University

Meg Smaker, “Boxeadora,” Stanford University

Matthew Spaull, “Spiritus,” Rochester Institute of Technology

Foreign

Arthur Lecouturier, “Do You Even Know...,” Iad (Belgium)

Dustin Loose, “The Last Will,” Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany)

Fernanda Valadez, “400 Bags,” Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Mexico)

Nick Rowland, “Group B,” Nfts (United Kingdom)

Patrick Vollrath, “Everything Will Be Okay,” Filmacademy Vienna / Filmakademie Wien (Austria)

Ilker Çatak, “Fidelity,” Hamburg Media School (Germany)

Ahmed Abdullahi, “Francis,” Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (Sweden)

Narrative

Henry Hughes, “Day One,” American Film Institute

Bennett Lasseter, ”Stealth,” American Film Institute Conservatory

Stefan Kubicki, “Against Night,” AFI Conservatory

Jeremy Cloe, “This Way Up,” American Film Institute

Jesse Gustafson, “Day 39,” Columbia University

Justin S. Lee, “Drone, “USC School of Cinematic Arts

Kiel Adrian Scott, “Samaria,” New York University...