Every spring, something remarkable happens on the Life Pacific University campus. Students who spent an entire semester wrestling with cameras, scripts, lighting rigs, and each other’s creative visions walk a red carpet, take their seats in a packed chapel, and watch their work come to life on screen in front of hundreds of people who are genuinely moved by what they made. This is Transformations, and if you want to understand what LPU’s Media and Communications program is really about, this is the place to start.

What Is Transformations Film Festival?

Transformations is Life Pacific University’s annual student film festival, hosted by the Media and Communications program. Now in its third year, the festival has grown from a promising inaugural showcase into one of the most anticipated events on the LPU academic calendar, and one of the most compelling demonstrations of faith-integrated creative education happening at any Christian university in the country.

The format is simple and the energy is anything but. Student filmmakers spend an entire semester developing, producing, and editing original short films. At the end of the spring term, those films are screened for a live audience in a celebration that feels less like a class presentation and more like an awards show, because that is exactly what it is. A professional panel of judges evaluates each film across five categories: script and narrative, cinematography, sound design, editing, and overall quality. Trophies are awarded, movie posters are made and the students who spent fifteen weeks pouring themselves into their work get to stand in front of their community and be celebrated for it.

“As the field of media and communications continues to evolve, it is more important than ever for the next generation of leaders to utilize new technologies with timeless storytelling craft. This kind of event allows these students a chance to see themselves in their future careers as filmmakers and storytellers,” said Andrew Hawksworth, MFA, Chair of Media and Communications at LPU. “But, beyond the films and awards, the evening’s greatest success was in seeing the students celebrated by an incredible community and stepping into their callings as they networked and formed creative partnerships that will shape the next generation of storytellers and culture-makers!”

This year’s Transformations drew a packed house, a live stream audience that included MComm alumni watching from New York City, and a panel of judges whose collective experience spans USC, Biola University, and active careers in professional filmmaking.

Eleven original short films were screened, covering themes as wide-ranging as substance abuse and recovery, family grief, romantic courage, the search for peace, and the quiet miracle of human connection. Every single one of them was made by an LPU student with a story worth telling.

“It was incredible to see our students networking and having the opportunity to ask questions and gain inspiration from a successful production team,” said Dr. Carissa Hawksworth, Assistant Provost at LPU. “We are blessed to provide our students not only with a quality education but also with the chance to engage with professionals in the marketplace to discover possible options for their future careers.”

The Films

What makes Transformations genuinely extraordinary is not just that students made films. It is what they chose to make films about. These are not safe, surface-level assignments. They are honest, emotionally resonant stories about real human experiences; stories that reveal what this generation of faith-driven creatives actually cares about and what they are capable of when given the tools, the mentorship, and the creative freedom to go after it.

“The Transformations Film Festival was jaw-dropping. The quality, care, and leadership of Professor Andrew Hawksworth and his team, combined with the riveting films created by our talented students, left the crowd in awe,” said Dr. Angie Richey, President of Life Pacific University. “What our students are learning in the classroom is translating into powerful artistic expression, professional skill, and meaningful impact. The momentum is exceptional, and I believe we will be standing room only next year!”

Here is every film screened at Transformations 2026 along with a link to watch it in it’s entirety:

The Last Straw
Written and Directed by Mariah Kavanaugh

The Banana Story
Written and Directed by Noah Crocker

Mr. Hinata
Written and Directed by Jordan Thurmond

The Invisible String
Written and Directed by Abigail Dyer

Reliving Eve
Written and Directed by Anthony Gamboa

First Word
Written and Directed by Mekhi Bramucci

Award Winners

Stronger
Written and Directed by Ivan Munir
Winner — Best Editing

Ivan Munir made this film while living in New York City and submitted it remotely, and the distance makes the film’s emotional reach feel even more remarkable. Stronger follows David, a young man drowning in grief and guilt after his sister’s death, haunted by the voices that tell him it was his fault and that the only way out is the bottle of pills in front of him. It is a raw, unflinching look at the weight of grief and the lies that depression tells and a genuinely moving portrait of what it looks like when the people who love you refuse to let you carry it alone. The judges recognized Ivan’s exceptional work in the editing room, awarding Stronger Best Editing for its ability to weave together an emotionally complex story with clarity and impact.

Self Medicated
Written and Directed by David Sanchez III
Winner — Best Sound Design

Self Medicated follows Ila, a sixteen-year-old girl navigating court-mandated therapy after an arrest for underage drinking and marijuana possession. As the story unfolds in the spare, honest space of a therapist’s office, we learn that Ila’s substance use is not rebellion, but grief. Her father struggled with addiction his whole life, and when he died, she picked up the only coping mechanism she had ever seen modeled. The film handles this with remarkable maturity and genuine compassion, never judging Ila and never letting her off the hook either. The judges awarded Self Medicated Best Sound Design, a recognition of David’s exceptional craftsmanship in building an auditory world that draws the audience completely into Ila’s experience.

Resonance
Written and Directed by Koen West
Winner — Best Director | Winner — Audience Choice

Resonance is the film that won the room. Two brothers, one devoted to keeping their late mother’s music shop alive and one quietly pursuing a dream at a prestigious music school, find themselves on a collision course of grief, resentment, and love. What makes Resonance exceptional is not just its technical polish, though that is genuinely impressive. It is the emotional precision of Koen’s direction; the way every scene builds on the last, the way the tension between the brothers feels completely real, and the way the film’s resolution earns every feeling it asks you to have. The judges recognized Koen with Best Director. The audience gave him their Choice Award. Together, those two recognitions say everything about what Resonance accomplishes.

Still
Written and Directed by Nyree Brady
Winner — Best Script

Still is a film about a miscarriage. It is also a film about a marriage. And ultimately it is a film about what it means to choose each other when grief has made that choice feel impossible. Nyree Brady, a returning Transformations filmmaker, delivers her most accomplished work yet with Still, a story that unfolds almost entirely in a single apartment and never once feels small. The dialogue is sharp and honest, the performances are raw, and the emotional beats land with the kind of precision that takes real craft to achieve. The judges awarded Still Best Script, recognizing Nyree’s exceptional ability to build a world, inhabit two fully realized characters, and take an audience somewhere genuinely difficult, and then bring them safely through to the other side.

Kanashimi
Written and Directed by David Figueroa
Winner — Best Cinematography

Kanashimi, the Japanese word for grief, is the most visually stunning film in this year’s festival. David Figueroa tells his story almost entirely through image and music, trusting his camera to carry the emotional weight that other films might lean on dialogue to deliver. The result is a film that feels less like a short and more like a moving painting; deliberately composed, deeply felt, and impossible to look away from. The judges awarded David Best Cinematography in recognition of his masterful eye for lighting, composition, color, and movement. It is a fully deserved recognition of a filmmaker who already shoots like a professional.

Andrew Hawksworth, Chair of Media and Communications with Professor Dean Yamada

The Judges

Every film screened at Transformations 2026 was evaluated by a panel of working industry professionals who brought genuine expertise and real-world perspective to the process.

Matthew Hawksworth is the Production Manager at the Cinema and Media Arts program at Biola University, one of the leading Christian film programs in the country.

Dr. Carissa Hawksworth is the Assistant Provost at Life Pacific University and a tireless champion of the arts across LPU’s academic community.

Professor Dean Yamada is a USC-trained filmmaker, a professor at Biola University, and an accomplished director who actively brings students into the filmmaking process, taking them to Tokyo, Berlin, and Indonesia to make short films and features alongside him. He has submitted work to the Venice Film Festival and regularly takes students to the Sundance Film Festival. His presence at Transformations 2026 as a featured guest judge brought a level of professional insight and genuine encouragement that the student filmmakers will carry with them for years.

“I see a lot of heart in your films,” Professor Yamada told the students during his conversation with Andrew Hawksworth on the festival stage. “Everyone knows how to make a film. The craft is important but what differentiates you is your voice. Work on finding your voice and knowing what stories you like to tell.”

The Awards

Here is a full list of the Transformations Film Festival 2026 award winners:

What This Program Is Really Building

Transformations Film Festival is a celebration. It is also a demonstration. Every film screened on that stage is evidence of what happens when a university takes seriously the idea that storytelling is a calling and that the ability to craft a narrative, frame a shot, build a soundscape, and move an audience is not just a marketable skill but a genuine vocation that deserves to be developed with excellence and grounded in faith.

LPU’s B.A. in Media and Communications program is built around four core competencies that shape everything the program does:

• Application of Communication Theories
• Integrated Biblical Worldview
• Technology Proficiency
• Career Development

If you are a student who has ever felt the pull toward storytelling and wondered whether your faith and your creativity could co-exist to build something truly meaningful, this is what that looks like in practice. And it starts with a single decision to show up and try.

Ready to Tell Your Story?

Life Pacific University’s B.A. in Media and Communications program is enrolling now. Whether you feel called to marketing, filmmaking, content creation, or ministry media, this program is designed to equip you with the skills, the faith foundation, and the real-world experience to go wherever that calling leads.

Come see what you could make.

Learn More About the MComm Program: https://lifepacific.edu/academics/degree-programs-majors/bachelor-arts-media-and-communication/