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UCLAxFilmFest

XFilmFest Screening
Opening for Submissions on August 5

Submit Your Films this Summer for UCLAxFilmFest 2027

The 11th annual UCLAxFilmFest will celebrate short films by current and previous UCLA Extension Entertainment Studies students with unforgettable in-person events and virtual screenings.

Designed to showcase and celebrate the best short films by Entertainment Studies students, UCLAxFilmFest selects from a pool of outstanding submissions that are 15 minutes or less and written, directed, produced, lensed, and/or scored by current or former Entertainment Studies students.

Please review the submission requirements and apply starting August 5.

Application Deadline: October 18, 2026

UCLAxFilmFest 2026 Filmmakers

A Look Back at UCLAxFilmFest 2026

UCLAxFilmFest 2026, our 10th annual UCLA Extension film festival, was a roaring success with four days of unforgettable events, inspiring panels, a world-wide virtual screening and over 2,000 RSVPs. All of the films were outstanding and memorable! Thank you to all of you who attended and voted for the Audience Choice Awards.

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Congratulations UCLAxFilmFest 2026 Winners

UCLAxFilmFest Best Film Winner
Best Film: My Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans
Written & Directed by Anika Kan Grevstad*
Produced by Chris Bauer, Corrina Leatherwood, & Skye Mahaffie
Millstone Best Director
Best Director: Millstone
Written & Directed by Peter Hoffman Kimball*
Debbie Walks Best Unique Film
Best Unique & Artistic Film: Debbie Walks Her Duck
Written & Directed by Nikki Braendlin*
Produced by Melissa Balint
Baggage Entertainment Studies Award
Entertainment Studies Award: Baggage
Directed by Tim Hendrix*
Written by Mae Catt, Dom Fera & Tim Hendrix*
Produced by Malcom Duncan & Zoe Rosenberg
A Peculiar Morning Audience Award
Audience Choice Award: A Peculiar Morning
Written by Senta Moses*
Directed by EmmyLou Diaz
Produced by EmmyLou Diaz, Senta Moses* & Alyson Silverberg
I Don't Care Audience Choice Award
Audience Choice Award: I Don't Care
Directed by Jay Guffey
Written by Mike Nielsen*
Produced by Brian J. Leitten*

Anxiety
Written & Directed by Nancy Sanchez*
Produced by Seth Coltan, Zack Matzganis &
Nancy Sanchez*
Cinematography by Samuel Ott

Baggage
Directed by Tim Hendrix*
Written by Mae Catt, Dom Fera & Tim Hendrix*
Produced by Malcom Duncan & Zoe Rosenberg

Budget Paradise
Written & Directed by Latajh Simmons-Weaver
Produced by Caitlyn Durkin, Sean Gillane 
& Chris Walters*

Breaking the Tide
Directed by Katrin York*
Written by Joe Thayer & Katrin York*
Produced by Waimea Danny, Artem Savitckii & Katrin York*

Cottonmouth
Written & Directed by Ama N. Anane*
Produced by Ama N. Anane*, Jess Barr & Alexander Spenser-Gould

Debbie Walks Her Duck
Written & Directed by Nikki Braendlin*
Produced by Melissa Balint
Cinematography by Paloma Ronquillo

Deliberate
Written & Directed by Marta Roncada*
Produced by William French, Raphael Gindre & Marta Roncada*
Cinematography by Dan Finlayson
Music Composition by Taylor Page

Dreamer
Written & Directed by Juan Javier "Javo" Aguirre*
Produced by Vince Garcia
Cinematography by Paul Black

Escape Artist
Written by Bo Price*
Directed by Sergine Dumais*
Cinematography by Jean Kavanagh

Fender
Written, Directed & Produced by
Jy Prishkulnik* & Sophie Anne Miller
Cinematography by Amber Buchanan
Film Scoring by Lauryn Vania Kurniawan

I Don't Care
Directed by Jay Guffey
Written by Mike Nielsen*
Produced by Brian J. Leitten*
Cinematography by Phillip Jackson

Mean Goals
Written & Directed by Ahuatl Amaro*
Produced by Barbara Lettieri & Fanfan Zhou
Co-Produced by Brian Bonilla, Guillermo Douglass-Jaimes & David Douglass-Jaimes
Cinematography by Aakash Raj
Music by Sean Segal

Memoria Obscura
Written, Directed & Produced by Efe Tuncay*

Mi-Mi Shu-Shu
Written by Marissa Lichwick*
Directed by Andrew Littlefield

Millstone
Written & Directed by Peter Hoffman Kimball*
Produced by Alan Cameron & Peter Hoffman Kimball*
Cinematography by Lidia Marukyan 
Music Composition by Paul Weichselbaum

My Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans
Written & Directed by Anika Kan Grevstad*
Produced by Chris Bauer, Corrina Leatherwood, & Skye Mahaffie

A Peculiar Morning
Written by Senta Moses*
Directed by EmmyLou Diaz
Produced by EmmyLou Diaz, Senta Moses*
& Alyson Silverberg
Cinematography by Leika Wong
Music Composition by Sherri Chung

Sound and Vision
Written & Directed by Pedro de A. Silveira*
Produced by Sam Chi-Yen Yu
Cinematography by Oliver Hales
Music Composition by Tozoco

Take Care
Written & Directed by Brittany Ashley*
Produced by Brittany Ashley* & Henry Loevner
Cinematography by Matt Miller
Music by Tancred

Veidar
Directed by Johannes Hülsemann*
Produced by Johannes Hülsemann* & Frederic Eynck
Written by Johannes Hülsemann* & Kim Langbein
Cinematography by Simon Jakeman
Composing by Christoph Jordan

When Memory Turns Into Sound
Written, Directed & Produced by Lemia Bodden*
Cinematography by Jason Joseffer
Executive Produced by Brandy Troxler and Yolonda Bodden 
Composed by David Dart and Geoff Yenson

marquee and signage of the Los Angeles Theatre featuring uclax filmfest

UCLA's Connection with DTLA

UCLAxFilmFest 2024 was held at the historic Los Angeles Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. UCLA Extension is no stranger to downtown – in fact, that’s where it all started more than 100 years ago.
And with UCLA’s recent acquisition of the iconic Trust Building, the continuing education arm of the institution plans to return to its roots to better serve those at the heart of the city.

Read More

sponsor logos for 2023 UCLAxFilmFest