2024 TUHSD Film Festival

Tempe Union High School District is proud to celebrate our Film & TV program through our annual Film Festival. Film & TV students from Corona del Sol, Marcos de Niza, McClintock, Mountain Pointe, and Desert Vista were tasked to create feature films. All submitted entries had to include several required elements, including pops, characters, and lines of dialogue. Students could create films on their own, or work in small teams.

Students were given a week from start to finish to complete their films for submission.

Required materials include:

Required Prop (A prop that must be visible at some point during the film):

Bag (bag pack, trash bag, sleeping bag, etc)

Required Character (A character that must be mentioned by name at some point during the film):

Riley the Guard

Lines of Dialogue (Must be said aloud, or made completely visible during the film):

“I just want to be there when you get what's coming to you”
“I just want a nice easy life. What's wrong with that?"

Films ranked in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place for Best Picture, as well as in several other categories celebrating editing, scriptwriting, and best use of required materials.

The winners of the 2024 TUHSD Film Festival are:

1st Place: I Still Picture You - MP
2nd Place: The Baggage Brawl - MHS
3rd Place: The Friend - CdS
Best Use of Character: The Friend - CdS ~&~ The Key to Success - MHS
Best Use of Prop: The Friend - CdS
Best Use of Required Dialogue: The Key to Success - MHS ~&~ Tales of the Crew - MdN
Best Screenplay: I Still Picture You - MP
Best Editing: The Baggage Brawl - MHS
Best Cinematography: The Baggage Brawl - MHS
Best Overall Performance: Michael Lopez, Tales of the Crew - MdN

Thank you to our Film & TV teachers!

2024 TUHSD Film Festival Judges

Isaac Easley - is an instructor in video journalism and innovation. Isaac teaches broadcast classes, produces promotional videos for the school, and works with students in Cronkite News on the Local TV News Innovation project under a Knight Foundation grant.
Sarah Happel Jackson - a Marcos de Niza High School alumna ('98) Sarah Happel Jackson is an executive producer with James Cordon's Fulwell 73 Production Company in Hollywood.
Devon Jackson - founded and owns Trademark Talent, a talent management firm representing actors and writers throughout the entertainment industry. His clients have been leads in numerous TV series at every major network and streamer, appeared in Studio and critically acclaimed films, on Broadway, and in various other forms of entertainment.
Cedric Owens - was born and raised in [South] Phoenix, Arizona, (the Valley). He is an Alumnus of Northern Arizona University, (NAU), majoring in Electronic Media & Film with a minor in Photography. During his time at NAU, Cedric was one of the first two students in the history of NAU to be nominated for an Emmy Award. Upon graduating from NAU, Cedric pursued a career in the production industry freelancing as a camera operator until 2014 when he accepted a position within the Creative Department at a highly regarded HBCU on the East Coast. During this time, Cedric earned 6 Emmy Awards and 13 Emmy nominations.