Film in the Gallery: Emergence

Join us for Emergence Film in the Gallery, celebrating young and emerging filmmakers.

We are excited to be able to announce the curator, filmmaker and photographer Ross Harris will join us for the inaugural Film in The Gallery showcase of emerging filmmakers.

The Film in the Gallery showcase will feature works from four Student Academy Award winners:

Rishabh Raj Jain, NYU: A Dream Called Khushi (Happiness)

Against all odds, a Rohingya refugee fights for education in Bangladesh's camps. When she meets AP journalist Rishabh Jain, her story ignites public outrage, revealing her resilience and the plight of Rohingya refugees denied basic rights. Dreaming of a life in Canada, where she can study, will she be the one in a million to break free?

Robin Wang, USC: Neither Donkey Nor Horse

Winner of the 2024 Student Academy Award and DGA Student Film Award Grand Prize, Neither Donkey Nor Horse is a 28-minute historical biopic thriller set against the Great Manchurian Plague of 1910. The film dramatizes the true-life story of the first Nobel Prize-nominated Chinese scientist, Dr. Wu Lien-teh, and his perilous quest leading the combat against the world’s most deadly epidemic at the time. As a young Chinese doctor educated in the U.K., he must defy prejudices of both the East and the West to champion his groundbreaking theory of the disease - and seek the truth that will heal it

Aaron Johnson, Chapman University: The 17 Percent

Winner of the 2024 Silver Award at the 51st Student Academy Awards in London is short film, The 17 Percent. This documentary film tells the uplifting story of Colette Divitto who was born with down syndrome and despite graduating college couldn't find employment. Colette was determined to not let rejection stop her from earning a living and doing meaningful work. Thus, she took her passion for baking and turned it into a living, founding “Collettey’s Cookies”. Since then, her company has seen major success having sold over 400,000 cookies to date and having been featured across the country on national news such as CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, BBC, and more.

Hannah Rafkin, School of Visual Arts: Keeper

For Flynn, a single father and empty nester in the Bronx, beekeeping is a source of calm, wisdom, and healing. Undeterred by his severe allergy to bee stings, he cares for hives across the city—including several inside his daughter Alaura’s childhood bedroom. When Flynn receives a life-threatening diagnosis, he reluctantly steps away from the bees under Alaura’s care. Battling cancer while fretting about his hives’ survival, Flynn prepares his daughter to continue living powerfully—with or without him.

And selected local student filmmakers:

Perla Gutierrez, Oxnard College: Glimpse of Happiness

Marlee De Anda, California Lutheran University: Bloom

Emergence Event Program Sponsored by