From April 3-5, more than 200 student filmmakers, professionals, and guests gathered at Loma Linda University Church in California for the North American Division’s 2025 Sonscreen Film Festival. Now in its 22nd year, this unique NAD event showcased 48 student films and several professional projects, featured workshops led by professional faith-based filmmakers, and honored emerging voices via a pitch competition with cash prizes and an awards ceremony.
“We’re here to celebrate creativity and storytelling. Storytelling is just such a fundamental part of who we are,” said Julio C. Muñoz, Sonscreen executive director and NAD associate communication director, on opening night.
He then spoke to the inclusive nature of the festival: “All of you are welcome and wanted here.”
The second highest total number of films in the festival’s history, a whopping 75 entries, were submitted this year, grouped into themed blocks and followed by Q & A sessions led by film faculty and professionals. Categories encompassed drama, documentary, comedy, art/experimental, and animation, with themes including faith, relationships, and identity.
Participating schools included four academies — Atholton, Auburn, Forest Lake, and Loma Linda — and five universities: La Sierra, Oakwood, Pacific Union College, Southern, and Walla Walla. John Paul the Great Catholic University also submitted an official entry in absentia.
Students focus intently on a screening during the 2025 Sonscreen Film Festival, held at Loma Linda University Church. Photo: Art Brondo | North American Division
Other highlights were community-building activities with peers and networking luncheons with professional filmmakers — back by popular demand from 2024.
“My favorite part about this festival is hearing the professionals come and talk to students because it's not often that I get a chance to talk face to face with people in the industry,” said Samantha Grecov Molina, a senior at Walla Walla University.
Sonscreen concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing 15 outstanding student films. Among them, La Sierra University junior Spencer Sherwin won both the Audience Choice and Emerging Filmmaker awards for In Case of Fire, a comedy inspired by his experience navigating life in a wheelchair. And Southern University senior Ashelen Rojas took home Best Documentary Short and Best in Festival for Papaviejo, a moving documentary about her grandfather figure in Peru.
With its message of inclusion and compassion for diverse stories, Sonscreen 2025 reminded attendees that faith, film, and community are still alive and well in Adventism. As the division’s only such event, it also underscored the church’s commitment to nurturing emerging creative voices and making space for stories that would otherwise not be told.
“God ultimately is a Creator,” concluded Rachel Scribner, festival co-director, speaking to the heart of Sonscreen. “So creating beauty and bringing joy to the world is one of the ways we’re created in the image of God.”
Rachel Scribner, co-director of Sonscreen Film Festival, and Julio C. Muñoz, executive director and NAD associate communication director, welcome attendees on opening night of the 2025 Sonscreen Film Festival Photo: Art Brondo | North American Division
Award-Winning Films:
Best in Festival
Papaviejo | Ashelen Rojas
Audience Choice Award
In Case of Fire | Spencer Sherwin
Emerging Filmmaker Award
In Case of Fire | Spencer Sherwin
Best Narrative Short
The Field Between Stories | Jhared Tula
Best Documentary Short
Papaviejo | Ashelen Rojas
Best Art/Experimental Short
Senses | Jhared Tula
Best High School Short
Blueprint for the Future | Alec O'Ffill, Moises Velasquez, & Junyong Chung
High School Special Jury Award: Achievement in Cinematography
Out of Sync | Trinia Blackmon
Nicholas Livanos, filmmaker and film program coordinator at Southern Adventist University, chats with attendees during a networking break at the 2025 Sonscreen Film Festival. Photo: Art Brondo | North American Division
Special Jury Award: Achievement in Animated Storytelling
Elephant Tracks | Joshua Martin
Special Jury Award: Achievement in Mise-En-Scène
Second Self | Jacob Capiña
Special Jury Award: Advancement in Technical Animation
The Slope | Zane Taitano
Special Jury Award: Achievement in Visual Storytelling
Ego | Melaney Klinedinst
Special Jury Award: Best Ensemble Cast
Until Dawn Fan Series: Ch 1 | Nate Van Kirk
Special Jury Award: Best Original Score
Fret | Conner Nelson
Pitch Competition Winners:
First Prize ($3,500)
The Ice Cube Movie | Sophia Schwartzrock
Second Prize ($1,500)
It | Kateryna Popravkina
Third Prize ($750)
AKA Ghost | Tamar Poole
Click here for more information about the Sonscreen Film Festival.
Click here to read more about Sonscreen through the lens of some of its outstanding young filmmakers.