Film Festival at Los Alamitos Unified Expands to All Grade Levels

An initiative launched in 2020 within the Los Alamitos Unified School District to teach filmmaking to high school students has grown into a district-wide effort that has inspired students throughout the TK-12 system to express their own vision through film.

So much so that many parents, students, teachers, administrators, and board members from Los Alamitos Unified filled the Bay Theatre in Seal Beach twice on May 30 to enjoy the 2^nd annual Los Alamitos High School Film Festival.

"We sold out the 4 p.m. show," said Conner Brown, the head of Los Alamitos High School's Film/TV Production Pathway, a Career Technical Education program, and the driving force behind the film festival. By the time the 7:30 p.m. showing came around, the Bay Theatre was filled again. “We are really happy to have them,” said Ben Ahle, manager of the venue.

"This community is so unlike any other community," said Brown before the second show. “It is so different because it so enthusiastically supports the school system and the school district,” he said. Los Alamitos USD has nine campuses across Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, and Rossmoor.

Brown moderated the show, introducing the videos with the enthusiasm of a parent or teacher who had grown what started as a tiny idea into what this film festival now represents. 

Only in its second year, the competition and event seem to be a smashing hit. Brown said 80 films made by students from across the district's campuses were submitted for consideration for this year’s festival. The entries varied from short films to music videos, advertisements and public service announcements. Only 30 films made the final cut.

Film festival attendees had the chance to see all 30 of them. Some, such as those from elementary school filmmakers, were short but entertaining. Brown described them with obvious affection as "adorable" and "really, really funny and cute." 

The kindergartners through fifth-graders had been handed a challenge with literally zero formal film training and produced miniature narratives full of earnest drama and accidental comedy. 

The winner, a short called “No Bread,” played to delighted laughter from every corner of the theater. (Scroll down for a complete list of winners.)

Then came the middle schoolers offering their lens on the medium. Brown said viewers could almost see the difference, “a shift in the way they work,” still developing, but intentional. “Camera angles were considered. Film cuts had a logic to them. One group made a commercial that made you want to buy the thing,” exclaimed Brown.

For middle school, the winning short film was "When Nobody's Watching" starring McAuliffe Middle School students Jack Standlea and Presley Markle. The offbeat teen rom-com with a throwback soundtrack – Rolling Stones and Ramones are featured – garnered laughs and cheers from the audience, especially during the film's playful and uplifting ending.

And then came the high school films.

Brown had spent most of the evening warming up the room, but he got noticeably quieter when the high school reels began.  

The freshman and sophomore submissions, strong for intro-level coursework, gave way to the advanced students' pieces. By the time the category reached the senior students, the audience was rapt.

The biggest crowd-pleaser of the evening might have been the silly but heartwarming short film "Updawg." The comedy featured Los Alamitos High School student Leonard Rosa as an unconventional superhero who is as earnest as he is inept. "Updawg" was met with thunderous applause and was the winner of the Advanced High School Short Film category.

Brown thanked all of the students for making films. Following the showing in each category during the 4 p.m. event, Brown announced the filmmakers and presented them with a golden trophy that resembled a miniature Academy Award or Oscar.

"This is your guys' night,” Brown said to every student in the theatre. “You should be so proud of yourselves for all the hard work you put in to get here. Even just being here tonight is a special thing," said Brown.

"If you're in the audience right now and you're in elementary school, or if you're in middle school," the instructor said, "look at what you have to look forward to,” Brown said to the attending students.

The festival concluded with the showing of the 2026 short film from Brown's advanced film students. This has been an annual tradition for a few years where numerous students work together to create a 15-20 minute film taking on all of the roles from writing, filming, casting, editing, marketing, and more. This year's film "Deaf Tones" follows a talented musician and songwriter as he struggles with a condition that threatens to rob him of his hearing.

Growing Film Program Wins Awards

During the event, Brown also ran through an impressive list of “wins” for the filmmaking program during the 2025-26 school year. “It has been an amazing year for us,” said Brown.  

In a Public Service Announcement (PSA) competition from Streets are For Everyone (S.A.F.E), LAHS students won four prizes from more than 500 entries including the Best PSA Gold Award for a film titled "Daisies." The win scored the students a $1,000 cash prize and a $1,000 grant for the LAHS film program. The winning PSA is also now shortlisted to be part of a campaign that will air at DMV offices across California and gas station screens across the country, according to S.A.F.E.

Brown's students also entered a 60-second PSA promoting mental health awareness for a contest called Directing Change. The film "Superhero" earned first place in the mental health category at the first-ever Directing Change Orange County Youth Choice Awards, according to the OCDE Newsroom.

Two LAHS students' commercials are also currently running on television during Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball games.

And then there's Christopher Blocher, an LAHS rising senior who entered the annual Orange County High School Artist of the Year competition only to make history.

“We won,” he said, a first for the school in the film and television category. Christopher was one of just seven finalists picked from a pool of 888 nominees across multiple disciplines. “Being in film and TV has influenced my perspective to view everything as art,” Christopher shared in a press release from the district. LAHS student Sean Massoumi was also named as one of the top three finalists in the film and TV category.

In addition, said Brown, “the county’s top film schools like NYU and USC are taking notice of the Los Al Unified filmmaking program.” Several of this year’s graduating seniors have been accepted at top film-related programs around the nation, he said.

Brown said he wants to continue to give his students the same showcase LAHS athletes and musicians receive. He's hoping to make future film festivals even bigger and more meaningful.

“We want this event to become a fixture of this community,” Brown said, “something people circle on their calendar the way they do the Car Show or the Christmas Parade,” he said. “We want it to become a local institution."

Los Alamitos Unified School District 2nd Annual Film Festival: Winners

Elementary Short film Winner:

"No Bread" by Sabrina Nunez and Miley Antunez

Middle School Commercial Winner:

"Uber Eats" by Noah Yoon and Owen Chua

Middle School Music Video Winner:

"The Man" by Brea Berani, Solyana Girum, Jaxon Price, Isaac Davalos, Camila Real, Cerys Burns, Ryan Vu, Eric Ang-y, and Aila Nickloff

Middle School Short Film Winner:

"When Nobody's Watching" by Jack Standlea, Presley Markle, Levi Shockley, Silas Wille, and Charlie Dodson

Beginning High School Commercial Winner:

"Sprite" by Whitney Rupp

Beginning High School Music Video Winner:

"Punk Rocky" by Andrew Tellez, Ian Huh, Connor Kubit, and Colt Carroll

Advanced High School PSA Winner:

"Superhero" by Joseph Ito, Davis Taylor, Chris Blocher, Audrey Romo, Mason Potter, and Ash Fragoso

Advanced High School Music Video Winner:

"Satellite" by Chris Blocher, Zach Blocher, & Jayden Villa

Advanced High School Short Film Winner:

"Updawg" by Joey Ito, Davis Taylor, Leonard Rosa, Audrey Romo, Milo Gih, Ryan Quinn, Jayden Villa, and Fiona Cole