11 April 2019 | According to a news report from the North American Division (NAD) of the Adventist denomination, a record 265 student filmmakers as well as professors and others in the industry attended the Sonscreen Film Festival at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, on April 4-6, 2019. Out of 95 submissions to the festival (another record high), 57 were screened as official selections at the event which was organized by the NAD.

“Sonscreen continues to grow each year, both in film submissions and attendance,” said Julio Muñoz, director of the Sonscreen Film Festival and associate director of the NAD Office of Communication. “Last year we broke records with 61 student film submissions. This year we jumped to 95. It’s exciting to see the numbers increase, as well as the caliber of films continue to rise. We have a limited number of films we can accept into the festival — we’re glad we could extend from 47 last year to 57 this year.”

In the NAD report, Muñoz was also quoted as saying that the aim was for the festival “to be an inclusive community where the young filmmakers are affirmed as artists and feel safe to use their craft to truthfully reflect on the world they live in.”

Sonscreen has now been held for 19 years and has given young adult filmmakers the chance to share their films, network with peers and learn from professionals. The films featured at the festival were divided into animated short, art/experimental short, dramatic short, documentary short, comedy short, and high school short.

“I think it’s pretty huge to have the Seventh-day Adventist Church sponsoring something like this, a film festival,” said Nick Livanos, writer and director of Belly of the Whale. “Our church doesn’t have a long reputation of being a fan of the movies, so it’s remarkable [that] all these people see that film can be this meaningful tool for self-expression or sharing the message of Christ, or sharing a humanitarian story that just has weight and importance.”

According to the NAD, schools and students present at the festival included: Andrews University (Michigan); Burton Adventist Academy and Southwestern Adventist University (Texas); Hawaiian Mission Academy (Hawaii); La Sierra Academy, La Sierra University, Loma Linda Academy, Pacific Union College, and Redlands Adventist Academy (California); Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church (Florida); Regent University (Virginia); Spencerville Adventist Academy (Maryland); Southern Adventist University (Tennessee); and Walla Walla University (Washington).

The 2019 Sonscreen award winners and official selections were as follows:

Best in Festival (tie)
Charlie | Sarah Martinez

Beep Bop Symphony | Christin Smolinski

Audience Choice Award
Beep Bop Symphony | Christin Smolinski

Jury Selection
Car Treble | Noah Dauncey

2019 Sonscreen Vision Award
Jay Stern

Dramatic Short
• Charlie | Sarah Martinez (Best Dramatic Short)

• Car Treble | Noah Dauncey (Honorable Mention, Dramatic Short)

• Movie Night | Tommy Moen

• Heavy | Javi Hernandez

• 6 Feet Under | Hann Shawn, Ilene Koeppen

• Mental Drive | Taylor Walker

• Touch | Brandon Walker

• Pacman | Wesley Jin

• Polarized | Michael Moyer

• Origami Bull | Summer Medina

• Distant Light | Brendon Wilson

• Hear Me Out | Clayton Kruse

• Stand Strong | Andrew Cathlin

• Whisper | Rachel Ermshar

Documentary Short
• Passing Through | Erik Harty (Best Documentary Short)

• A Child of Apartheid | Stephen Allcock (Honorable Mention, Documentary Short)

• Black Barber’s a Lifetime Thing | Madai Villa-Coppiano

• A Song About You | Justin McLaughlin

• Alone | Madelyn Rogers

• Alexis Howard Profile | Dillon Siok

• An SM Is Many Things | Joel Wagness

• The Voices We Don’t Have | Joel Wagness

• The Land Bleeds Still | Anthony Matos

• Vow of Silence | Brittany Danese

Comedy Short
• Missing Sock | Joshua Trevilcock (Best Comedy Short)

• Writer’s Journey | Brittany Danese (Honorable Mention, Comedy Short)

• Old People vs VR | Sarah Martinez

• Intramurals | Barbara Chavez

• The Unhireables | Hailey Ausmus

• How to Solve the World in 5 Easy Steps | Hailey Ausmus

• Lumaberry Farmer | Andrew Hansen

Animation Short
• Beep Bop Symphony | Christin Smolinski (Best Animated Short)

• Drawn In | Kacey Lason (Honorable Mention, Animated Short)

• The Button Fly | Richard Roberts

• Thanks, Obama | Laura Garcia

• Just My Luck | Chris Cartwright

Art/Experimental Short
• Bridge the Gap | Joy Ngugi (Best Art/Experimental Short)

• Halo | Leonardo Leoni (Honorable Mention, Art/Experimental Short)

• Roads | Morgan Sanker

• Skate | Cameron Gustman

• KYUSS | Arik Amodeo

• Agirlsitsaloneatadesk | Julian Ybarra

• But Fellas… | Jordan Barnett

• Perspective | Skylar Jacobs

• Red Towel | Sarah Cabral

• Fish Tank | Hann Shawn

• Redemption | Piang Piang

• You Are Loved | Brandon Cheddar

• DACA and the Death of Dream | Daniel Martinez

High School Short
• Why Do You Make? | Ethan Gueck (Best High School Short)

• Fear | Brandon Cheddar (Honorable Mention, High School Short)

• Discover Driving Pleasure | Alex Zheng

• Recipe | Fiona Lin

• There’s No Money in Flipping Cards | Hudson Struck

• Suicide PSA | Abby Inostroza

• Dear Big Brother | Kayli Pascal-Martinez

• For King & Country – Joy | Lindsey Gispert

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