A Creative Outlet

The Spanish Film Festival for students enrolled in the Spanish Basic Language Program is an exciting  event that provides an opportunity for these students to showcase their film-making talents and language skills. In this festival, students can create short films using the Spanish language and submit them for consideration. It serves as both a platform for creative expression and a valuable language learning experience. It encourages students to use their language skills in a real-world context and provides a unique opportunity to explore storytelling in a foreign language.

 

A group of about 15 students listens to a presentation at a lounge space.

Spring 2026

Award recipients

SPAN120: Grace Holsher, Kaela Almayda and Haze Sasson
Professor Fudacz
SPAN150 (tie): 
Prapti Patel Emily Viramontes and Cara Williams
Professor Fudacz
*Sean Goedecke, Holden Houterman, Sean Kassaounian, Holden Taylor and Tatva Prasad
Professor Fages
SPAN220: Kai Willey, Jack Guilbault, Gabriel Studer-Randall
Professor Cohen-Steinberg
*SPAN280: Jose Bizuet, Valerie Garcia, Cassandra Hernandez, Deliz Reyes
Professor Fages
Best Acting: Holden Taylor
* Nominated to the USC Multilingual Film Festival
Picture on the left shows statuettes and gift bags displayed on a table. On the right, seven students with their awards and two faculty pose in a classroom.

Fall 2025

Award recipients

SPAN 120 – Mohammed Ali Al-Sabeh, Mark Lin, and Megan Coulun
Professor Fudacz

SPAN 150 – Kaitlin Mendoza, Laila Hamdalla, Nay’Lani Gainer, and Madison Omega
Professor Gómez

SPAN 220 – Isabella Mendoza, Mia Brahe-Pedersen, and Kaeley Cooper
Professor Gómez

SPAN 240 – Faith Armstrong, Kendal Graham, and David Herrera
Professor Mesrobian

Best Acting Award – Jack Guilbault
Professor Gallego

Spring 2025

Latin American and Iberian Cultures Film Festival recipients:

SPAN 120: Jadden Le, Jack Meador, and Omer Merchant – Prof. Pérez

SPAN 150: Ryan Switzer, Kai Willey, andGabriel Studer-Randall – Prof. Cohen Steinberg

SPAN 220: Alison Oh and Constantine Tripodes – Prof. Gallego

SPAN 240: Sebastián Gárnica, Scarlett Maldonado, and Riley Wetmore – Prof. Parra

SPAN 280: Marisa Gaglio, Yuki Kobayashi, Anyi Tan, and Angel Jimenez – Prof. Fages Agudo

Fall 2024 Latin American and Iberian Cultures Film Festival.

This year’s recipients have shown incredible creativity, hard work, and dedication.
Sammy Lee, Tyler Gevas, and Ben Apple
SPAN120

– – –

Kassidy Atherton,  Araceli Butcher, Julianne Cox, and Maaha Hashmani
SPAN 150

– – –

Grace Robinson, Dylan Beck, Riley Boehm, and Kayla Dardashti 
SPAN220 and Best Acting

– – –

Mercedes Angulo, Max Rubenstein, and Canela Castro
SPAN240

– – –

Katherine Cruz, Ava Garibay, Klarissa Palacios, and Kate Burke
SPAN280 and Best Theme Interpretation

 

 

LAIC Film Festival Spring 2024 Winners

Best Spanish 120 Film:

– Hyurk Ju Lee and Chanel Yessner

Best Spanish 150 Film:

– Alex Kyriakakis, Dylan Beck and Aadyn Sleep-Dalton

Best Spanish 220 Film:

– Paula Punzalan, Fernando González and Sara Bazan

Best Spanish 240 Film:

– Catherine Charlton, Roya Nadim and Alex Tambacia

Best Spanish 260 Film:

– Grace Huges, Willa Dorgan, Sophia Le and Daniel Bennet

Best Acting:

– Nathané George

Best  Thematic Interpretation:

– Samuel Torres and Zoey Boyd

 

A group of 20 students and faculty members pose inside a lecture hall with the word "Feliz" as background.

 

 

 

LAIC Film Festival Fall 2023 Winners

Best SPAN120 Movie:
– Mia Moore; Jacky Rutherford ; Nathan JanakA large group of students and faculty pose for the camera. Students are holding paper award certificates.

Best SPAN150 Movie, tie between:
– Marisol Perez, Allison Luong
– Lori Gaboudian, Jonathan Casillas, Zain Shukr

Best SPAN220 Movie:
– Sophie Martinez, Nathan Hubanks, Bennett Myers, Owen Turner

Best SPAN240 Movie:
– Alison Mitchell, Rogelio Alvarado, Jen CrawfordA large group of students and faculty interact in a large gathering indoor space.

Best Cinematography:
– Lily Morse , Olivia Owyang. Joe Jordak, Bella Ung

Best Acting:
– Omar Abd-Elhamid, Malieya Pittman, Haily Cunliffe and Lexi Turner