PBS Socal has revealed the judges behind the 26th edition of “Fine Cut Festival of Films.” This is acknowledging the California student filmmakers and the short films they have created each year. Awards worth more than $45,000, the contest has collected 430 film submissions from students attending more than 53 schools in California.
According to PBS Socal, it is the most submission to a festival competition. The winners were selected by an industry judge in the documentary, animation and story categories, and the event’s signature Jack Larson Southern California Student Film Director Award winner was named after the founder of Fine Cut.
This year’s judges include Emmy-winning director Mary Lou Berry (Elsbeth, NCIS New Orleans, Monk), photography director Doug Emmett (Just, The Edge of Seventeen, Traumed Innocent), three frame media media Jaye and Adam Feanderson (PBS’s” and Unlike). Writer/Director/Producer Liz W. Garcia (Space Cadet, Lifeguard, Cold Case), Story Artist/Actor Michael Herrera (By Bye Bunny: Rooney Tens Musical, Zootopia+, and Encanto), and VP of the Starts Program, Acquisition & Co-Producer Michele Artega, “Michele argeza (“Haunting Us”), writer/producer Eileen Sim (“Acolite”, “The House of the Dragon”, “The Light of the Feathers”), and writer/director Echo Wu (“Gentlery Chau vs. Underworld”, “Wish Grant”).
The winners will be held at Vidiots’ Eagle Theatre in Eagle Rock at the awards ceremony on Tuesday, September 16th. Variety Executive Editor, TV, Michael Schneider and Variety Senior Entertainment Writer Angeli K Jackson will once again co-host the event.
This year’s Fine Cut Competition finalists will be compiled into six one-hour episodes scheduled to air on PBS Socal Plus (aka KCET) at 10pm on Wednesday, September 24th. Film can be streamed on pbssocal.org/finecut and on the free PBS app.
Winners will receive rental equipment, animation software, design tools and more. It is also Fine Cut’s annual mentoring workshop held at Radford Studio Centre on Saturday, September 27th. Participants will be included in the Director/Cinema Track. It includes director Tessablake, director Marcus Stokes and film director Felipe Valladerei. Writing/producing mentors include writer/EP/showrunner Vera Santamaria, writer/director Drew Hancock, and Showrunner/EP Dailyn Rodriguez. Mentors for the animation track include character designer Elsa Chan, art director Miguel Gonzalez, and Jesse Jewonho, artist management manager at Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios.
According to PBS SoCal, the finalist film focuses on topics such as “isolation, culture, and determination.” Of the finalist films, 61% came from female directors. 76% had at least one female producer, and 6% of directors were trans/non-binary. Additionally, 74% of finalists included the protagonists or main subjects of underrated race/ethnic groups, while 67% of directors came from underrated race/ethnic groups.
This is the first look of the film’s amazing cut festival:
