ACU’s student film festival returned to the historic Paramount Theatre this spring for the 22nd premiere event to celebrate student achievement in film. The event featured projects from 14 teams, including narrative, documentary and animated films represented.
The theme of FilmFest 2026 was “On Set,” and the evening included past and present judges and mentors describing the experience of being on a film set. Tim Holt (’15), a past FilmFest participant and ACU’s Young Alumnus of the Year, described the challenge of stepping onto a new set.
“We’re always trying to make bigger and better videos, and the sets change from shoot to shoot from smaller sets of teams of three to four to bigger shoots which will have probably 50 to 60 people on set. The roles might be carried over but you’re always going to be learning something new based on the type of content that you’re trying to produce.”
More than 100 students participated in producing this year’s films, with a third of those students working on more than one film. In fact, five students this year contributed to at least five films, including Brooke Musia and Lauren Burris who won Best Direction for their film After Emmy and Abbey Monroe who directed the Best Picture winner Courting, along with writer, editor and sound roles on other films.
Joshua Varner won Best Cinematography for Sins and Cinders, but shot or helped shoot three other films. One of the stand-out-performances this year came from a sophomore multimedia major participating in FilmFest for the first time. Jaden Frecka won Best Original Score for his film Keeping up with the King but also wrote original music for six other films or, in all, half of all submitted films.
During the event, students also heard from Randy Brewer (’93), long-time producer with Revolution Pictures in Nashville now in Abilene as ACU’s chief storyteller. Brewer told students it’s “important to network long before you graduate.” He partnered with FilmFest last May on a road trip to Nashville that included visits to sets and production studios where students met professionals in a range of fields. “You may think, like I did, ‘I want to be a director,’ and then when you get out there, you may change your mind and think, ‘Maybe I’d be better at what they do.’ I think everyone should look for a mentor.”
This year’s judges were industry mentors from production hubs in L.A., Tulsa and Atlanta. Sommerly Simser (‘10) is a returning judge and finance executive at Netflix. She is a member of the Television Academy and Women in Film and is the founder of the Tinseltown Scholarship Society, a nonprofit supporting aspiring college filmmakers.
Two new mentors joined the FilmFest Gala this year. Amy Teague is a set decorator and production designer from Tulsa whose credits include Twisters, Reservation Dogs, The Low Down and The Great Awakening currently in theatres. Nate Corrona comes from Dustbrand Films in Atlanta having directed and produced more than 200 music videos with Grammy-winning artists like Crowder, PJ Morton and Lecrae. Both met with students this year to share their experience and provide feedback leading up to the FilmFest Gala.
Brewer advised students that opportunities to connect with mentors or get chances to be on set exist through FilmFest. “Who are the mentors at FilmFest who are people you can go up to and ask could I have coffee with you? What are some ways I should be on set? You have the opportunity to be mentored more, but you just need to step out.”
Visit acu.edu/filmfest to learn more.
– Kyle Dickson
April 20, 2026