LA EXPO 2024
Film Series Finalists
The 2024 Film Series Competition winners have been announced. Click button below to view a list of winners.
Music Videos & Commericals
Altering Spaces - Decayed Brocade
DIRECTOR
Pj Perez
PRODUCERS
Pj Perez, Sara Gorgon
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Pj Perez
SYNOPSIS
A promotional short about DECAYED BROCADE, a sustainable nature art and home jewelry brand created by Los Angeles-based artist and designer Adriann Helton.
Storm Chaser - Acura MDX
DIRECTOR
Martin Lisius
WRITER
Martin Lisius
PRODUCERS
Martin Lisius, Kim George
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Martin Lisius
SYNOPSIS
A commercial for the Acura MDX was created by filmmaker and storm chaser Martin Lisius. Filmed mostly in Texas during the spring and summer of 2023, this production required the crew to synchronize shooting dates with extreme weather. Blowing dust, hail, intense lightning, and tornadoes were regular parts of filming.
A Free Society - Night Crickets
DIRECTOR
Ramzi Abed
WRITER
Night Crickets
PRODUCERS
Ramzi Abed
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Ramzi Abed
SYNOPSIS
Official music video for new 21st Century post-punk supergroup, Night Crickets, comprised of David J Haskins (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners, and their genre-defying title track from their debut album, “A Free Society”.
Strangest Thing - CG5
DIRECTOR
Marmo Films
PRODUCERS
Justin Marmorstein
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Cesar Withingham
SYNOPSIS
Official Music Video for “Strangest Thing” from artist Charles Duncan “Charlie” Green V, better known as CG5, who creates original songs, remixes, and covers inspired by popular topics like video games, memes, and the Netflix show, Stranger Things.
The Ballad of Elvis Presley - Josie Cotton + Kevin Preston
DIRECTOR
Piper Ferguson
DIRECTOR
Josie Cotton
PRODUCERS
Larva X
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Pingry
SYNOPSIS
Official music video for “The Ballad of Elvis Presley” by artists Josie Cotton and Kevin Preston
Toyland - Ray Angry
DIRECTOR
Tatjana Krstevski|
WRITER
Tatjana Krstevski|
PRODUCERS
Tatjana Krstevski|
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Tatjana Krstevski|
SYNOPSIS
Official music video for “Toyland” by Ray Angry feat. Questlove, Black Thought, Marcus King, Pino Palladino & Liv Warfield
Human - The Elephant Man
DIRECTOR
VONJAKO
WRITER
The Elephant Man
PRODUCERS
Andrea Giacomini
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Andrea Giacomini
SYNOPSIS
Official music video for the “Human” by The Elephant Man, a rock-dark-wave quartet from Europe In a world of dazzling sunlight, the enigmatic Elephant Men performers
captivate audiences.
Shoot Sleep Repeat - Zeiss
DIRECTOR
Jon Joffin, ASC
PRODUCERS
Tony Wisniewski
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jon Joffin, ASC, Brendan Steacy, ASC, CSC
SYNOPSIS
We follow two filmmakers through their day as they shoot multiple styles and locations with the ZEISS Nano Primes. They repeat the same each day, creating ever better content that ultimately brings awards for their efforts
Independent short films
Litany for Mister President
DIRECTOR
Christopher Meyers
WRITERS
Christopher Meyers, E.K. Metzker
PRODUCERS
Alecc Bracero, Daniel Tantalean
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Derek Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Dom Copley becomes unhinged with grief and anger after the most precious thing in the world is taken from him – his beloved cat, Mister President.
Storm Chaser - Acura MDX
DIRECTOR
Bradford Lipson
WRITER
Sahag Gureghian
PRODUCERS
Tammy Katz, Tracy Clifton, Robert C. Rodriguez, Bradford Lipson, Sahag Gureghian
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jeff Berlin
SYNOPSIS
Motel Room, based on a true event, explores the friendship that develops between an Armenian teenage boy and the prostitute his father hired to take his virginity.
No Light/No Darkness
DIRECTOR
Margos Margossian
WRITER
Margos Margossian
PRODUCERS
Wesley Barker
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Kevin Zanit
SYNOPSIS
An informant in the post-Soviet Republic of Armenia must decide if she’ll betray her ethnic identity by leaking highly classified information on the country’s decision to reopen its nuclear power plant following the collapse of the USSR.
Triggered
DIRECTOR
Hisonni Mustafa
WRITER
Hisonni Mustafa, Eduardo Robinson
PRODUCERS
Eduardo Robinson, Hisonni Mustafa, Shante Deloach, Adia Bell, Trina Colon, Brandon Champ Robinson
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Justin Melson, Hisonni Mustafa
SYNOPSIS
When a dedicated teacher’s prized student mysteriously disappears, he is confronted with a pivotal challenge that compels him to reconcile with the boy’s mother in a race against time to locate him.
Voce Means You
DIRECTOR
Mahyar Mandegar
WRITER
Luísa Dalé Silva, Mahyar Mandegar
PRODUCERS
Joting Hsu, Corrine Dye
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Luísa Dalé Silva
SYNOPSIS
In Você Means You, Reza, a reserved skateboarder, has a chance encounter with his longtime crush at a busy skatepark one afternoon. As they navigate the skatepark’s challenges, their connection deepens, and they discover the true meaning of você (you) in a heartwarming and unexpected way.
You're Early
DIRECTOR
Will Maloney
WRITER
Robert Bruinewoud
PRODUCERS
Will Maloney, Denis Maloney
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Denis Maloney
SYNOPSIS
When a struggling actress walks into a home invasion, she must put on the performance of a lifetime to save her husband.
Student Films
Canta Santiago
DIRECTOR
James Valdez, Gabriel Chavarria
WRITERS
James Valdez
PRODUCERS
James Valdez, Joel Vazquez
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
James Valdez
SCHOOL
New York Film Academy
SYNOPSIS
A young mariachi faces his first performance alone but discovers his brother has always been by his side.
Children of Light
DIRECTOR
Minkyu Kang
WRITERS
Minkyu Kang
PRODUCERS
Minkyu Kang, Bofan Zhang
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jeong-seok Park
SCHOOL
Columbia University
SYNOPSIS
On a remote island in the 1960s, a young Korean boy is kidnapped and assaulted at a juvenile center and must escape with his rival to survive.
Im Finstern
DIRECTOR
Mahyar Mandegar
WRITERS
Hannah Platzer, Mahyar Mandegar
PRODUCERS
Santi Naidoo, Mon Castro Busto
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Hannah Platzer
SCHOOL
American Film Institute
SYNOPSIS
Behind the lonely existence of a vampire in her decaying home lies the tender story of unbroken love and deceptive melancholy. One day, the vampire is visited by a sun ray through the aged wooden panels of her house. Smitten and fascinated, she reaches beyond.
Jamila
DIRECTOR
Julia Freij
WRITERS
Julia Freij, Meg Dudley
PRODUCERS
Peri Michael
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jeong-seok Park
SCHOOL
American Film Institute
SYNOPSIS
While reluctantly preparing at a beauty salon for a wedding, a Palestinian American teenager clashes with her family members, challenging her assumptions about culture and femininity.
Perfect Day
DIRECTOR
Puyu Wang
WRITERS
Puyu Wang
PRODUCERS
Eva Zheng, Annine Zhang
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Puyu Wang
SCHOOL
American Film Institute
SYNOPSIS
On a serene and sunny afternoon, a veteran of the Cultural Revolution and his wife reminisce about their youth as they embark on their final journey together.
The Bullfighter
DIRECTOR
GIselle Bonilla
WRITERS
GIselle Bonilla
PRODUCERS
Colter Kozal, Wuliang Zhang
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Sharon Pulwer
SCHOOL
American Film Institute
SYNOPSIS
A farcical comedy about ex-bullfighter, Felipe Fernando de la Fernand, a once extraordinary figure now trapped in an ordinary world. Since his retirement, he has struggled to maintain the heroism he once felt as a matador and uses a job as a flag-waving parking attendant to stage one last redemptive bullfight… actively triggering a past he’s yet to reckon with.
The Basics of Love
DIRECTOR
Joshua Nathan
WRITERS
Joshua Nathan
PRODUCERS
Xixian Wang
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Andi Obarski
SCHOOL
American Film Institute
SYNOPSIS
After stumbling into an armed robbery on New Year’s Eve, two sanitation workers are caught off-guard by feelings for one another that they didn’t realize they had.
