Student filmmakers from USC, California College of the Arts and Cal State Northridge won top honours at PBS SoCal’s 27th annual Fine Cut Festival of Films. The event recognises emerging Southern Californian talent, with winning films receiving substantial industry support and opportunities to reach wider audiences through PBS SoCal.

Daniel Simon Zhang won the narrative category, Mia Hagerty the documentary category and John Angelo Serrano the animation category, while Sam Markson received the overall Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award. This year’s competition attracted more than 430 submissions from 53 schools, with prize packages worth over $55,000, including grants, equipment, production resources and software; selected films will air on PBS SoCal and appear online.