The Future of Film with Tom Oliva

In The Weeds: bit.ly/InTheWeedsMovie Self Portrait: https://youtu.be/pJGiG9pPPAg Brutalist Thingy: https://youtu.be/trSk2juBmkI Instagram: Instagram.com/nick.milczarczyk  Letterboxd: Letterboxd.com/projecter12

"Wavy Head" by Max Shoham - 2018 Best Documentary & Best International Nominee “ Sophie and Jacob” by Max Shoham - 2020 AAHSFF Best Animation Winner & Best Overall Nominee The Giant and the Moon Hearth Website: https://www.maxshoham.com/ Vimeo:   https://vimeo.com/504522776

Hudson’s gifts as storyteller humbled us. His three films, “Fork, Knife and Chainsaw” (a half horror/half dark comedy), “Death By Handshake” (an introspective pandemic comedy epitomizing and embracing his NYC roots) and “Friday” (a hyper-relevant, teen tour-de-force rich in depth of character, conflict, an immersive range of emotion, attention to delivery, and the elusive x-factor… the ability to...

Paradigm: https://youtu.be/Rsj1rJ_fEJc The Boy Behind the Door Clips/Website: https://stephensboyer.com/tbbtd Messages , an extremely minimalist short film Stephen made in college that he is really quite proud of: https://vimeo.com/218898566 Some Notable Commercial Work: https://stephensboyer.com/commercial-editing

There is no end to the praise I have for Morgana’s talents, except to say that what I have witnessed is surely just the beginning, and I should use my words sparingly because no doubt there will be many more opportunities to commend her considerable gifts as she continues to pursue her passion. And what passion it is! Morgana made the most of her All American eligibility, submitting exemplary prod...

We knew that Lance Oppenheim was a gifted storyteller from the moment his first submissions arrived in 2014. His two documentaries that year, “The Dogmatic” and “Quicksand” illuminated a remarkably grounded and resonant cinematic voice - a voice capable of harnessing the inherent emotional weight of his subjects regardless of their topical diversity. Both docs leave considerable scars on the viewe...

I’ve gotten to know Monica pretty well over the years, in large part, due to what I now recognize as her incredible passion for all things filmmaking and an unrelenting hustle to make her dreams a reality. During her years of eligibility with All American, I seemed to run into Monica everywhere - conventions in various states around the country, during traveling roadshow presentations that were ho...

When William submitted his documentary “Painting the Town: The Street Art of Detroit” in 2018, it was an immediate contender. To quote an interview from the film... “Opportunity exists when you’ve hit the bottom… And optimism brews when there is no other option but to be optimistic.” The first images offered in the Doc confront the viewer with the harsh reality of a fallen American city. A series...

Clio burst onto the All American scene with her outstanding 2015 and 2016 Official Selections, “Stranded” and “Congratulations Abigail”- the former a riveting drama about a young dancer traumatized by failure and insecurity as she travels to a competition that consumes and overwhelms her entire physical and psychological universe. The film earned her our Best Cinematography Award for its striking...

Gabe’s talents earned him several category nominations and our Best Drama award in 2018. His restrained and heartwarming film, “DV-130” conquered our most competitive category with its mature sensibility and perspective, character-driven emotional core, and subtle, but purposeful, layers of conflict. A “DV-130” is the official legal document representing a domestic violence protection order - a pr...

Dig deep in the credits of some of our best submissions from the last few years, and you will find the name Roxy Sorkin again and again. A constant collaborator with her peers, Roxy seems poised for anything: fueled by her limitless potential and an insatiable desire to create. As a writer and director, Roxy is equally impressive. Her 2019 submission “We Don’t Talk” won our Best Music Video award...

I stared at my computer screen for a long time thinking about what to say about Lukas Dong… thinking about how to craft an appropriate narrative for a filmmaker so integral to our organization’s belief in the future of film, a filmmaker so immensely… innately talented, so destined to make a profound impact, and yet so humble, gracious and giving... so incredibly respectful and professional even as...

At just 21 years old, Ciara already boasts the kind of resume dreams are made of… But a closer look reveals a relentless work ethic and passion for genre-shifting storytelling at the core of her success. She’s the writer and director of 16 short films with considerable experience in both independent cinema and commercial projects. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Texas...

Throughout high school, Leo was a prolific submitter of top tier content, consistently producing a diverse array of stories focused on subjects and characters entrenched in highly personal, but instantly universal conflicts. His films always earned high scores from our judges, regardless of genre, because he possessed an innate understanding of how to focus his lens on the little details that help...

Dusan is a Chicago native who has been living in LA for the last ten years, honing his skills as an actor, writer and director. His resume is incredibly impressive, prompting us to break our protocol for only interviewing AAHSFF alumni who have already graduated high school, in order to explore his wealth of experience and striking talent. So what does an 18-year-old’s impressive resume look like?...

We were introduced to Grace back in 2017. Her film “The Missing Piece” illuminated her ability to expose intimate, personal themes of the teen experience with a soft and subtle approach. In 2019, her talents had matured, earning her several category nominations and the award for Female Rising Star. Her films, “Close From Afar” and “Jonah and Julie” are focused on strong female leads... dynamic cha...

Dallas, Texas native and AAHSFF '14-'17 alum, Cal Etcheverry, first came on our radar in 2014 with multiple Official Selections that illuminated his ability to embrace a wide range of genres with a keen interest in revealing genuine human connection triumphing over adverse circumstances. His dark comedy, “Surgeon of Seoul” won Best Comedy in 2015, further displaying his limitless range and passion...

Isaac came out of nowhere in 2017. Unlike many of the young filmmakers who submit projects to us throughout high school, their talent maturing with each submission and each year, Isaac only ever submitted one film. It just so happens that this filmmaker from a tiny town in South Carolina, and a tiny school with no film program, created one of the most complete and professional films we have ever r...

We have a talk with AAHSFF alum ‘17-’19, Nepal Arslan to dig deep into what drives this emerging filmmaker. Nepal began submitting films in 2017, so we’ve had the pleasure of watching his talents mature for three years - his passion was first recognized with several Official Selections and ultimately with his win for Best Drama in 2019. Nepal pursues stories rooted in character explorations - whet...

AAHSFF '19 alum, Quinn Fluet is our most recent winner of our top award, Best Overall Film, for his insightful and pleasantly delicate story of two teens struggling to connect and come-of-age under the shadow of an imminent alien invasion. The story concept of the film “Ground Control” sounds big, and it is, but what won over our judges was Quinn’s ability to balance the dramatic conflict, subtly...

AAHSFF ‘15 alum Carol Nguyen's films explore her evolving relationship with her cultural heritage, often presenting abstract and dreamlike reflections of her emotional journey while employing mixed media to evoke a powerful sense of tone and atmosphere that compels the viewer to become engaged with the deeper themes of her projects. Her process and style provide a wonderful glimpse into a truly un...

AAHSFF ‘16 alumni Jackson, Nick, Allan and Ricardo (collectively Hot N Tedious Productions) are the epitome of the power of collaboration, seamlessly blending writing, directing, cinematography and acting talents to tell stories drenched in a sunny Southern California charm that lures the viewer in through hilarious humor and keeps them engaged with much deeper explorations of the complexities of...

AAHSFF '13 Alum Emily Cohn was part of our very first festival, all the way back in 2013, and she was a big part of helping us affirm our belief that the future of film was bright and that talented young filmmakers needed our support and recognition. Emily’s early films were full of strong and engaging female characters, navigating complicated relationships and coming of age in a world rife with u...

AAHSFF '17 Alum Caleb Wild is the writer and director of "Cycle" a film mature in theme, rich in symbolism, and beautifully rendered on screen while simultaneously grounded  in authentic youthful perspective and emotional exploration.  Caleb writes stories that expose a raw, universal human condition and then employs the elements of film to illuminate the depth of these stories in remark...

AAHSFF ‘16 alum Christina Xing is a writer and director of immense talent. Her 2016 submission, “Goldfish” made an irresistible impression on our judges, taking home the award for Best Drama. Her refreshingly unique coming-of-age story provides a rich study of character and conflict as it explores an unlikely and challenging romance and its power to overcome trauma. But this film was clearly just...