On April 25, the Hotchkiss Film Club hosted the 15th Annual Hotchkiss Film Festival in Walker Auditorium, marking 15 years of a student-founded tradition centered on sharing the work of young filmmakers.

This year’s festival brought together more than 50 submissions from seven New England schools, with 17 films selected for a program that ranged from documentary storytelling to narrative work and inventive “super shorts.”

Led by club heads Trey Ramirez ’26 and Leon Li ’26, and guided by Ann Villano, instructor in photography, film, and related media, the festival continues to reflect its original mission of creating space for student voices in film. Trey, a four-year senior at Hotchkiss, began his filmmaking journey by creating videos for the varsity boys basketball team and is an Honors Film student. Leon, a four-year senior from Canada, brings a reflective, critical lens to his work as a filmmaker in the Hotchkiss Film Club.

Alumni filmmakers Brian Ryu ’13 (who co-founded the festival with Carla Frankenbach ’12) and Luke Gardiner ’21 returned as judges, evaluating films across categories including overall achievement, storytelling, and visual craft.

The evening recognized standout work from across the program. Hotchkiss students Cooper Grace ’27 received the Grand Jury Award for Fish Out of Water, Warren Edwards ’27 earned Best Cinematography for Becoming a Unit, and Trey Ramirez ’26 was awarded Best Super Short for his experimental film Paradise Waits.

Additional honors went to Katherine Antoniou of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts for Railroad Flowers: A Memoir (Best Visuals) and Chloe Yeu of Milton Academy for Daughter of Sound (Best Story).