2026 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, Tempe High and Desert Vista were tasked to create feature films. All submitted entries had to include an inciting incident and a required prop.
Students were given a week from start to finish to complete their films for submission.
Films ranked in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Best Picture, as well as in several other categories.
The winners of the 2026 TUHSD Film Festival are:
- 1st Place: SUNDOWN - MHS
- 2nd Place: The Bucket List - CdS
- 3rd Place: Weren't Witches - MHS
- Best Use of Prop: SUNDOWN - MHS
- Best Soundtrack (tie): Amor Fati (Cleavon Gary) - MDN| Weren't Witches (Roomie Wood, Emily Wescott and Madeline Kartchner) - MHS
- Best Screenplay: Weren't Witches - MHS
- Best Editing: SUNDOWN - MHS
- Best Special FX: The Bucket List - CdS
- Best Cinematography: SUNDOWN - MHS
- Best Performance: The Bucket List - CdS
- Best Sound Design: SUNDOWN - MHS
- Audience Favorite: SUNDOWN - MHS
- Thank you to our Film & TV teachers!
2026 TUHSD Film Festival Judges
- Syleste Rodriguez - is the Fox 10 morning anchor here in Phoenix. Syleste grew up in the East Valley, went to Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, and attended Arizona State University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism . Syleste has been recognized with numerous awards including Anchor of an Emmy Award-Winning Morning Show Newscast in 2012 and Emmy Nominated for her story in a series on Drought in Arizona in 2010. She was also awarded by the Autism Society of America for Best Broadcast Story.
- 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.
- Jakob Owens - is a visual director whose work spans music videos, narrative films, commercials, travel, branded content, and social media. A proud graduate of McClintock High School, he is also the creator of TheBuffNerds, a YouTube channel with 300+ million views and 815K+ subscribers, along with a personal Instagram following of 235K+ (@JakobOwens).
2025 TUHSD Film Festival Winners
First Place Best Picture: SUNDOWN - MHS
Second Place Best Picture: The Bucket List - MdN
Third Place Best Picture: Weren't Witches- CdS