Read Interviews With the Fifth Annual Student Short Film Showcase Winners, Awarded By The Gotham, JetBlue and Focus Features
May 8, 2025
James Ross, Sisa Quispe, Xinying Lao, Kevin Haefelin and Mel Sangyi Zhao.
A creepy humanoid inches closer with every blink. A young woman returns to Peru to fulfill her grandmother’s dying wish. A nine-year-old boy attempts to hide the beloved cows his grandfather must separate. A despondent man attempts to end his life to no avail. An older woman navigates ageism and desire in China.
These are the varied premises of the five winners of the fifth annual Student Short Film Showcase, co-presented by JetBlue, Focus Features and The Gotham, Filmmaker‘s publisher. The five winning filmmakers are, respectively, James Ross (Don’t Blink, Florida State University), Sisa Quispe (Urpi: Her Last Wish, City College of New York), Xinjing Lao (Xiaohui and His Cows, New York University), Kevin Haefelin (Fuse, Columbia University) and Mel Sangyi Zhao (Return to Youth, California Institute of the Arts).
The awardees each received a $10,000 grant, an invitation to the 2023 Gotham Awards in Manhattan, their short’s year-long inclusion on in-flight entertainment systems on JetBlue planes as well as additional mentorship and workshopping offerings from The Gotham. The initiative also receives support from SoHo House, which screened the student films at locations across the country. The five shorts are currently available to watch on Focus Features’ YouTube channel.
Read individual interviews with the winners and watch their short films at the links below.
“Totally Smooth Productions Are a Myth”: James Ross on His Student Short Film Showcase Winner Don’t Blink
“The Story Kept Growing Alongside My Real-life Experience”: Sisa Quispe on Her Student Short Film Showcase Winner Urpi: Her Last Wish
“Children and Animals Have a Natural Intuition and Liveliness”: Xinying Lao on Her Student Short Film Showcase Winner Xiaohui and His Cows
“One of the Most Delicate Challenges I’ve Faced as a Filmmaker”: Kevin Haefelin on His Student Short Film Showcase Winner The Fuse
“We Have More in Common Than We Think”: Mel Sangyi Zhao on Her Student Short Film Showcase Winner Return to Youth
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