Block 7-Student Films

About This Program

A short films program of student work.

Grandpa Cherry Blossom

Director: Maddox Chuen Won Chen

Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 8 min, Black and White and Color, Student Project - Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach, California

The life of Francis Uyematsu, a Japanese immigrant, is told through the words of Mary Uyematsu Kao, his granddaughter, and Chuck Currier, a local historian and former teacher.

Francis Uyematsu created a successful flower nursery, owning over 130 acres of land, until the Japanese Internment during World War II, when he was forced to sell his land. Entire neighborhoods now sit on his former land, filled with hundreds of homes and high schools, and the flowers he created are no longer his.

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The More We Get Together

Director: Daniel Roberts

Narrative Short, United States, 2021, 12 min, Color, Student Project - University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Delia, 25, panics when she finds out her dad is in the hospital with COVID symptoms. That is, until she hears strange noises coming from the closet, and out tumbles Gracie, Delia’s adorable childhood therapy puppet.

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Ivory Tulle

Director: Jax Guillen

Narrative Short, Canada, 2023, 9 min, Color, Student Project - Toronto Film School, Ontario

It’s Teresa’s wedding day and everything is as beautiful as can be: the outdoor garden is in full bloom on a bright, sunny day in the summer, the decorations are tastefully designed and composed, the bride and groom look the best they ever have, and the mother and father of the bride are present and happy to witness this event. But are things as happy as they seem?

Great Lakes Connection: The director is a student in Toronto.

LINT

Director: Jack Horrigan

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 9 min, Color, Student Project - Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan

A man embarks on a surreal journey to save a sock and ultimately finds the connection that he’s been searching for.

Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Saginaw, Michigan and features several Saginaw icons such as White’s Bar, Olde Towne Laundry, and Wub’s Saginaw Brick shirt. All of the talent and crew are Saginaw residents and Michigan natives.

Time to Leave

Director: Ethan Gough

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 7 min, Color, Student Project - Motion Picture Institute, Troy, Michigan

A young couple take their love on the run after doing away with the woman who wronged them.

Great Lakes Connection: The film was written and shot in Michigan with an all-Michigander cast and crew.

Waves Apart

Director: Josh Greene

Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 25 min, Color, Student Project - University of Southern California, Los Angeles

After moving from a Jewish community in Chicago to a small California surf town, Josh Greene faced bullying and antisemitism as a middle schooler. He found an escape in surfing.

Years later, as a college film student and avid surfer, he investigates the anti-Semitic history of surfing that includes swastikas carved into the first commercially produced surfboards, the German-American bund, and Hollywood’s first surf film.

Great Lakes Connection: The director was born in Chicago and his entire family is from there. This is a theme in the film as Josh deals with antisemitism after moving from Chicago to California.

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Sisyphus Unbound

Director: Ryan Fleming

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 8 min, Color, Student Project - Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

A college writing student hopes to have his latest story published, but he must first get over one major hurdle: his mercurial writing professor.

Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in and has an entire cast and crew from Ohio.

Incoherence

Director: Emily Rodriguez

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 20 min, Color, Student Project - Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

A birthday dinner reunion devolves into madness when a young painter realizes her closest relationships have changed beyond recognition.

Great Lakes Connection: The director was born and raised in Illinois. The film is about returning to the Midwest/Great Lakes region after a few years abroad and attempting to reconnect with childhood friends.