Spring 2026 Newsletter

The 66^th annual Film Finals at SF State: “From Student to Screen” now open for submissions.

Deadline to Apply with Rough Cut: April 20^th by 5 p.m.

The SFSU Film Finals is an annual event held to showcase the diverse talent at our School of Cinema. The festival is planned and curated by SFSU students with faculty advisory. This festival allows Cinema students to display their work over the past year on the big screen. With over 50 years of rich history, Film Finals would make a great addition to any student resumé.

We accept films of all genres and formats made by an SFSU School of Cinema student — Undergraduate or Graduate.  The film must have been worked on for/in an SFSU Cinema class or independent study during the Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 Academic Calendar (Summer 2025 included!)

Submissions are free!  We encourage students to submit their best work under 20 minutes (highly encouraged to submit under 10 minutes) to compete for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Audience Choice Award.

This event will be held at the McKenna Theater in the Creative Arts Building on the SF State University campus on May 14th. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the event starts at 6:00 p.m. RSVP for your seat at the McKenna Theater on Event Brite.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at: Filmfinals2026@gmail.com or Prof. Rafael Flores at Raflores@sfsu.edu and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

This is a notice to remind you that the School of Cinema is facilitating access to funds for film productions, research and teaching through our annual scholarships process. Students interested in animation, documentary, fiction, film studies, and other fields can apply for a variety of funding opportunities. Check out the Scholarships page on the Cinema website for all the details. The submission deadline for the scholarships is April 25^th at noon.

Prof. Artel Great was recently recognized by the L.A. Times for his work curating the first major retrospective of the Black Pack film movement at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The retrospective, called: The Black Pack: Rewriting American Comedy is a month-long series that runs from April 3 – 26th. It is the first public exploration of their cultural contributions at a contemporary art museum and is inspired by his latest book. 

The retrospective will feature 35mm screenings of: Hollywood Shuffle, Coming to America, the In Living Color TV show, and more. There will also be special guest appearances from cast members who'll join me for post-screening conversations. The Hammer is the first stop on the national Black Pack film retrospective touring series he is organizing, which will visit several major cultural institutions and universities across the country.

The California Arts Council recently awarded Prof. Flores with two grants to support his creative work and teaching with Oakland-based non-profit The Hidden GEM Creative Studios to advance filmmakers of color in the Bay Area.  The grants both support the general operations of his organization, and a career pathways program to pipeline young BIPOC artists into the film industry.

Conall Jones, a former SF State cinema grad, recently won an Academy Award for best documentary short this year at the Oscar for his film All the Empty Rooms. The film focuses on Steve Hartman and Lou Bopp who embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings.

Abbey Vollmer (B.A. Cinema/Animation 2021) is working on the Simpsons Movie 2 as the Assistant to the Director, Rob Oliver. Abbey has been involved in the design and storyboard process, working side by side with the production manager, storyboard supervisor, and storyboard artists. 

I'm working my dream job on my dream show/movie! I now have the incredible opportunity to be a part of the entire animation pipeline from start to finish. I'm going to be on this project until September of 2027, when the movie comes out.”

— Abbey Vollmer

Rob Oliver apparently had been trying to get Abbey a spot on the show for years because of the work she did with Animation Society on Animation Finals 2021. Abbey who was President of the Animation Society student club from 2020 – 2021, invited Rob to the Animation Finals which screened on zoom due to the pandemic, and the show left a lasting impression on him about Abbey’s talents and the Animation Program at SF State.

An Academy Award winning producer and director, Marcy Page (M.A. Cinema/Animation, 1984) screened her latest animated short film, Virgin Fandango, at Annecy Festival in France. Her film is a unique Canadian-Portuguese project. Taking eight years to complete, her film uses a novel technique of animated azulejos or 12,000 painted tiles. The short plays on both the narrative and formal possibilities of these animated objects, and features a rebellious Mary joining her voice to celebrate women of history in their struggle for equality.

Ipdeot (입덧), a short film by SFSU undergraduate student Dokyun Im, has received top recognition in Korea, winning the Grand Prix at the Christian Film Festival, the Hangang International Film Festival, and the National University Independent Film Festival. In the United States, the film was officially selected for the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) and the Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPIFEST), where it is set to make its North American premiere this May.

Rooted in the director’s personal experience, Ipdeot follows a young Korean immigrant couple as they struggle to begin a family while facing deportation and hardship.

A screening of PBS new documentary Henry David Thoreau, followed by a discussion with on the ground environmental justice advocates from around the Bay Area.

Date: Thursday, April 9
Time: 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Location: Coppola Theater (FA 101)

A screening of PBS new documentary Henry David Thoreau, followed by a discussion with on the ground environmental justice advocates from around the Bay Area.

Date: Thursday, April 9
Time: 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Location: Coppola Theater (FA 101)

Dear Prospective Students:

The School of Cinema offers in-person tours of our facilities. Please make an appointment by contacting the Cinema Office at cinema@sfsu.edu.