As a preface, let me make it clear that the Arlington Student Film Fest is not a traditional film fest. There is no selling films for distribution, there is no premiere exclusivity clause, ASFF is simply meant to highlight and celebrate films made by the students of Arlington Public Schools. One downside due to limited time, is that the Film Fest does not screen the top movies in front of an audience, instead, viewers are invited to remotely watch the films and then attend an awards show. An accidental benefit to these unfortunate circumstances is the fact that I am able to write to you now.

I have viewed quite a few of the films submitted by high school students across Arlington and I’m here to list off a few that I believe could be contenders for awards. Keep in mind that these are my personal picks (excluding films I had any involvement in) and therefore, representation from certain categories might be a bit sparse. With that said, let us begin.

Isaac Ainspan – Confessing

Confessing is a film built on a relatable concept, internal monologue and the anxiety that comes with a crush. The cast and crew are Todd Orvald, Ali Khalifa, and 8 clones of the director and protagonist, Isaac Ainspan. The pacing is lightning fast, aided by the drums-only score, and sometimes to its detriment, but it doesn’t fail to be an enjoyable experience.

I think it has a solid chance at winning the Comedy category and could possibly take an Editing or Sound Design award.

Yara Shomali – Not to Scale

Like Confessing, this film takes an internal struggle and extrudes it into a more visual medium. The uncanny human figures help the audience sympathize with the protagonist’s self-image issues. Without spoiling too much, the ending is not an optimistic one, but more so offers itself as a cautionary tale. Since this film has a message,

I think it has a good chance of winning the Animation category. 

Ethan Eccker – MXCK – am i safe?

A collaboration between director Ethan Eccker and musician Mack Millsapps, the music video for am i safe? combines maximalist sounds and visuals. You’ll become overstimulated in a way that fits the lyrics, pleading for safety. There were only 3 music videos sent in this year, and this one is definitely the more technically impressive one.

This could be a big win for Wakefield in the Music Video, Sound Design, and Editing awards.

Morgan Fritz & Thomas Thernstrom – Power and Politics – Episode One

Wow. Although amateur and clearly refrained by budget, the ambition is clearly on display. This group of students from Washington-Liberty put together a sprawling story about, well, power and politics; not to mention that this is only episode one! The main creative forces behind this film are Morgan Fritz and Thomas Thernstrom who, (not to discredit the relatively massive crew) split between the two, conceptualized, wrote, directed, scored, and acted in this epic. I will concede that on occasion, some scenes had some rough spots in terms of audio, dialogue, or plot, but these momentary hiccups never completely pulled me from the riveting story.

I think this movie has the potential to take the 13th Category (and would absolutely decimate the drama category should the length restriction be lifted), and could also take a top Director award.

Dylan Heinrich – Pulling Petals

Dylan Heinrich clearly understands how to shoot, and how to color grade. While not as ambitious as Power and Politics, Heinrich really values quality over quantity. Even without dialogue, the visual performances from Jackie Lutz and Max Gehlhoff are striking. I don’t know about ASFF’s copyright policy or if the music was cleared, but Heinrich employs 2 songs off of M83’s monumental album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming; regardless of how it might affect its qualification, the music absolutely enhances the emotional core of the film.

I would love to see a feature length from Dylan Heinrich in the future. I could see this film winning the Drama category, as well as best Producer, Cinematographer, and Light Design.

Brandon King – Saudade

This film is art. This film made me feel. I have been the protagonist in this film before, feeling lost and numb at home without anything to do, knowing that some kind of end is nigh. This film isn’t shot perfectly, the exposure is sometimes too low, but the little imperfections (which crop up in every single film) might in this case add to the mood of the film. On repeat viewings, the opening scene of Brandon King’s Saudade takes on such a bittersweet tone with zero dialogue and zero actor movement. The seniors taking a last look at HB, their home for so long and stepping into the unknown while holding hands with their dear friends captures that in-between state of mind of seeing your whole world die yet so many possibilities open up. Seemingly unable to deal with this, the rest of the film collapses into the unbearably familiar solitude of knowing you’re wasting what precious time you have with loved ones. And for what?

I hope this film wins the Experimental category, and I’m not quite sure which filmmaker award it will win, but I hope it gets something!

Again, these were just some of my favorites from this year’s harvest; I saw other films that I liked, just executed to a degree that impressed me less. I encourage you to form your own opinion and view these films at bit.ly/ASFF2026. (If you are at school, the link does not work on the APS network. Intranet restrictions are an interesting thing. Open a new browser and make sure you aren’t signed into APS.)

Right now, you can vote for the Best in Fest award. Winners are announced at the High School Awards Show at 7pm on Thursday, 4/30 at Wakefield. Vote at bit.ly/ASFF2026. Any of the  225 films can win Best in Fest.