ATL Jewish Film is proud to announce the award recipients of its inaugural Student Filmmaking Competition Showcase, held Wednesday evening at the Tara Theatre. The celebration brought together an audience of more than 200 students, families, educators, and community members for a screening of all 10 student-produced short films crafted around the theme of “Building Bridges”, offering every participating team the opportunity to share their work on the big screen alongside their peers.
Three awards were presented to student filmmaking teams whose work exemplified creativity, collaboration, and storytelling rooted in empathy and connection:
2025 Student Filmmaking Competition Award Recipients:
- Building Bridges Award: Opposite Equalities — Georgia Cyber Academy
Two high school girls, Hannah and Kim, must learn to overcome colorism and classism to work together to win a scholarship offered through their school’s robotics competition. - Peer Award: Mother’s Song — The Lovett School
Years after their mother has died, a young teen and her adopted older sister confront the vast distance that has grown between them. - Artistic Excellence Award: You Can Always Trust Me — North Atlanta High School
In a haunting dream that blurs fear and memory, 17-year-old Mara relives the pain of betrayal—by her girlfriend, her parents, and herself—only to awaken to the realization that healing begins when the cycle of mistrust ends.
Awards for Building Bridges and Artistic Excellence were determined by a jury of filmmakers, industry professionals, educators, and ATL Jewish Film supporters, including Ebony Blanding, Kiah Clingman, Jason Evans, Sheri Labovitz, Steve Labovitz, Amanda Vincent, and Eddie von Mueller. The Peer Award was selected by the student filmmaking teams participating in the competition.
A full list of schools participating in the Student Filmmaking Competition and Showcase includes Cumberland Academy of Georgia, The Galloway School, Georgia Cyber Academy, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, The Lovett School, Marist School, North Atlanta High School, The Westminster Schools, and Woodward Academy.
A New Educational Milestone for ATL Jewish Film
The Student Filmmaking Competition Showcase marks a major milestone in ATL Jewish Film’s expanded commitment to film-based education as part of the Kenny Blank Vision Initiative, which builds year-round programming and deepens the organization’s impact in schools and across partnerships throughout Atlanta.
Over the past several months, student teams progressed through a seven-stage production process that mirrored professional filmmaking: concept development, scriptwriting, casting, production planning, filming, editing, and final presentation. The teams were given a theme “Building Bridges” as their basis for the project to explore storytelling, identity, and connection through the art of film. The culminating showcase at the Tara Theatre, where all ten films were screened for an audience of more than 200 attendees, offered all of the filmmaking teams to assemble and celebrate their own creativity and that of their peers from across the city.
“This showcase reflects what happens when students are given the space and support to tell stories that matter to them,” said Kenny Blank, Executive & Artistic Director of ATL Jewish Film. “Their films show tremendous heart and imagination. Most importantly, they demonstrate how storytelling can bridge differences and bring communities together.”
Lead underwriters Sheri and Steve Labovitz, whose vision helped launch the inaugural competition, added: “These young filmmakers showed incredible commitment and collaboration. Supporting their voices is an investment in Atlanta’s future; one that is built on creativity, curiosity, and connection.”
Looking Ahead
The Student Filmmaking Competition will return in 2026 with expanded opportunities for mentorship, production support, and cross-school collaboration. Additional details for the 2026 program will be announced at AJFF.org/EDU.
