Student Films Shine on the Big Screen

5/27/2026

Comedic timing, dramatic tension and thoughtful pauses. The Masters Film Festival had it all as Adrian Sas’ film students and Luke Wilde’s animation students screened their short films to the school community last Wednesday in the Experimental Theater.

The festival featured works from more than two dozen student filmmakers whose projects ranged from thrillers to documentary profiles to adaptations to animations. Students showcased the skills they learned in visual storytelling, screenwriting, and camera and editing techniques. Click HERE to view the program.

“I’m incredibly proud of the range and ambition of the work my students produced,” Sas said. “These young filmmakers translated literary short stories into compelling short films, created suspenseful pieces inspired by our study of Hitchcock, and produced documentary shorts of truly professional caliber.”

Sophie Ricks ’27, a Filmmaking II student who co-wrote and co-produced “The Hitman” with Estela Ostrom ’27, explained their collaborative creative process.

“Our assignment was to create a short film with suspense and no dialogue,” Ricks said. “We brainstormed for two classes before we settled on the idea of a hitman and then began a shot list. Filming was the fun part, and the editing afterwards was what really made it come together. Estela is truly one of the most talented people I know, and the film only came out great because of her.”

Filmmaking III student Abe Cohn ’28, who wrote the short films “Heat,” “Distraction” and “Cholula Man,” appreciated the opportunity “to be creative and also to express myself in ways people wouldn’t necessarily expect from me.”

The Q&A at the end of the screenings was a highlight for Sas. For her, the audience’s “thoughtful, insightful questions reflected how deeply the films resonated with them. The filmmakers responded with eloquence and honesty, revealing how much they learned over the course of the semester as well as the tremendous care, creativity and effort they put into their work.”

The celebration of student storytelling continued this week as students in Roberto Mercedes’ Advanced Topics in Spanish Language and Cultures classes rolled out the red carpet for the 8th Annual Spanish Short Film Festival. Mercedes noted the films were “filled with creativity, culture, music and humor. This special event celebrates the Spanish language and the hard work of our students.”