Origins: In The Beginning
Each year, Film2Future hosts its annual Awards Ceremony and student film premiere. Students, family, friends, speakers, and Hollywood executives join the celebration to honor the students for all their hard work in the summer program.
Students receive awards for their projects during the gala, such as Best Concept or Best Original Script. Each year we present someone with our Changemaker Award to recognize their social activism and passion for underserved youth, diversity, and education. Recipients have included LaToya Morgan (2020), Jaeden Martell (2019), Emilio Rivera (2018), Elgin James (2017), and Iris Grossman (2016).
This year our annual gala, Origins: In The Beginning, went virtual and featured the fantastic Andy Allo (Upload, Pitch Perfect 3) as our host, plus other celebrity guests Adina Porter, Sahr Ngaujah, Emilio Rivera, and the cast of Mayans M.C. (Joseph Raymond Lucero aka Creeper, Carla Baratta aka Adelita, “Rocco” Vargas aka Gilly and Mike Beltran aka Ibarra).
Joseph Raymond Lucero debuted an original spoken word titled “Dieing 2 Live” while L.A.’s own Mariachi Voz Juvenil treated us to a few different songs throughout the night. The recipient of this year’s Changemaker Award went to the Co-Creator & Executive Producer of Duster, LaToya Morgan, who delivered a beautiful and inspiring speech:
Here’s Film2Future student Joel Al Hassanieh sharring a touching story about her childhood:
And of course, we premiered our student short films produced during our summer program: One Son, Saffron, Belonging, Rasha, and Three Hundred Bucks, which you can watch below.
Three Hundred Bucks
2020 AWARD FOR BEST WRITING
SYNOPSIS:
Asher’s friends are tired of him being a virgin. As his birthday approaches, they seek out help from a female friend behind his back.
STUDENT CREW:
Writer/Director – Dylan Broom
Producer/Art Department/Sound – Sophia Alvarez
Sound/Music/Editing – Christian Morales
Production Supervisor – Alex Coffey
One Son
2020 AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
SYNOPSIS:
Focused on LGBT youth, we witness the ups and the downs of a young man’s life and how these experiences shape him for the future.
STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
Writer/Director – Raymond Rios
Producer/Art Department – Owen Galicia
Sound/Music – Naithan Hernandez
DP/Editor – Natalie Escobar
Production Supervisor – Catie Daley
Saffron
2020 AWARD FOR BEST SOUND DESIGN & SCORE
SYNOPSIS:
A young Iranian American girl is finally able to grieve and feel connected to the memory of her mother after receiving some guidance.
STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
Writer/Director – Niaz Bashi Shahidi
Producer/Art Department – Osvaldo Perez
Sound/Music – Perla Higareda
DP/Editor – Angel Martinez
Production Supervisor – Carlo Fiorio
Belonging
2020 AWARD FOR BEST EDITING
SYNOPSIS:
Created in a lab, a mysterious boy escapes in search of family and belonging.
STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
Writer/Director – Cheyenne Williams
Producer/Art Department – Neida Marroquin
DP/Editor – Brandon Rodriguez
Sound/Music – Ricardo Paz
Production Supervisor – Kourtney Gleason
Rasha
2020 AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTING
SYNOPSIS:
A mother struggles to find a way out of a domestic violence situation for her and her daughter after the cops refuse to help.
STUDENT FILMMAKERS:
Writer/Director – Joel Al Hassanieh
Producer/Art Department – Maria Quiroga
DP/Editor – Victor Bautista
Sound/Music – Jhoab Barrerra
Production Supervisor – Valeria Lopez
Check out some behind-the-scenes photos of our students filming their projects over the summer.