Latest News & Announcements
April 15, 2025
24th Annual City Shorts Student Film Festival Program Announcement:
Boxed In by Eleftherios Mastrotheodoros
The 48 by Nolan Gray
sewn piece by Laura Cohen
Ping Pong Anxiety by Becky Cornwell
The Deal by Natalia Guecheva
The Challenge Zone by Derek Magsany
Fragments of a Dissonant Mind by Gretchen Telzrow
Roshambo by Siyang Chen
MINDPLAY by Meri Chobanyan
The Apartment of Dr. Caligari by Ben Duran
Unfeeling by Claire Mann
Cherry Yogurt by Joey Nelson
Left by Shirin
Ameliorate by AJ Brown
We look forward to seeing you at the festival to support and celebrate student filmmaking Sunday May 18th 12:30-2:30pm at the Roxie Theater.
April 15, 2025
Cinema SF will give a special presentation to Cinema and other interested students about film industry employment, how to get permits and other filmmaker-oriented organizations and resources Wednesday April 30th 4:15-6pm in STEAM 101. The event will also be live streamed on the Cinema Department YouTube Channel.
February 20, 2025
"Alumnus Carl Rennie in his second year MFA program at American Film Institute. Petals is a 3 minute cinematographer showcase, written and directed by Rennie. "In a fantastical wonderland built from her memory, a woman discovers the childhood friend she'd abandoned, and must decide what to sacrifice to bring him back to life."
Carl Rennie with crew
On the set of Petals
February 13, 2025
Congratulations to CCSF Cinema alumnus Uel Renteria whose film Stellacast Transmission: Pt 1 Subconscious Eyes will screen on February 22nd and Febraury 23rd as part of the Narratives Shorts program at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.
Stellacast Transmission: Pt 1 Subconscious Eyes
February 11, 2025
Congratulations to Fiona Huynh, recipient of the 2024 Dina Ciraulo Filmmaking Scholarship and Leo Mastrotheodoros, recipient of the 2024 Doug Punsalan Memorial Scholarship.
Fiona Huynh & Leo Mastrotheodoros at City Shorts (2024)
2024 FMI Winner of Best Documentary Catherine Finsness and Cinematography student Patrick Delany at the Festival of the Moving Image
October 8, 2024
Congratulations to CCSF Cinema Alum Emily Meehan
Her film Sneaking Around screens at the Roxie: Oct 9 through Oct 15.
February 6, 2024
23rd Annual City Shorts Film Festival
The 23rd Annual City Shorts Film Festival will take place at the
The Big Roxie Auditorium, 3117 16th Street (at Valencia St.) (Date/Time TBA)
City Shorts will be accepting applications for the 2024 Festival on February 7.
Submissions are due Friday, March 29th, MIDNIGHT.
2024 City Shorts Application
November 16, 2023
11th Annual Festival of the Moving Image
December 10, 2023 @ 12:30pm-2:30pm at the Roxie Theatre
The 11th Annual FMI screening will take place at the
Roxie Theatre, 3125 16th Street (at Valencia St.)
$15 General Admission, $11 Students & Seniors (ID Required)
November 16, 2023
Holiday Arts Sale and Celebration!
Food! Live Music! Movies! Art for Sale!
Thursday, December 7th from 11-6pm*
Visual Arts building lobby
*Happy hour with food and music 4-6pm
Mark your calendars - this is the end of the year event for the School of Fine, Applied, and Communication Arts
Art, VMD, Cinema, Music, Journalism, BEMA, and Photo will all be represented at the event.
Cinema will be showing work in V115.
September 19, 2023
Congratulations to CCSF Cinema student Lizzy Myers. Lizzy's short film Countertransference will soon screen in an exhibition of Bay Area artists as part of the de Young Open 2023. The exhibition runs September 30, 2023 through January 7. 2024.
Countertransference (Lizzy Myers)
Filmmakers Adam Amaya and Lizzy Myers
August 28, 2023
Congratulations to current CCSF Cinema students and alumni Connor Casey, Maura Cotter, Diana Hartman, and David Waldorf on their acceptance to the 2023 Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema program.
Maura and David's documentary short The Freeway Greenway and Diana's narrative short Sail Away will screen as part of the Film Crawl on Cortland program on September 8 at 7pm/8pm/9pm.
The Freeway Greenway (Maura Cotter and David Waldorf)
Sail Away (Diana Hartman)
Connor's narrative short Neutraface will screen as part of the Under the Stars at Precita Park program on September 8 at 7pm.
Neutraface (Connor Casey)
August 25, 2023
Congratulations to Maura Cotter, recipient of the 2023 Dina Ciraulo Filmmaking Scholarship and Charlie Wittke, recipient of the 2023 Doug Punsalan Memorial Scholarship.
Maura Cotter (Dina Ciraulo Filmmaking Scholarship)
Charlie Wittke (Doug Punsalan Memorial Scholarship)
August 25, 2023
Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 City Shorts Film Festival held at the Roxie Theater.
Catharine Finsness (Winner: Best Experimental Film for Light Moves)
Laurel Kuo (Winner: Best Narrative for No Return Address) and Alejo Perez-Stable Husni (Winner: Best Documentary for Los colores del intestino son tan indos)
Adam Amaya (Honorable Mention for Channel Surfing)
CCSF Cinema Professor Anjali Sundaram with City Shorts Producer Peter Tyler and Filmmaker Laurel Kuo
August 23, 2023
Fremont (Babak Jalali, 2023)
CCSF Cinema Department faculty member and producer Chris Martin's new film Fremont premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January and recently screened at the Roxie Theater. Anthony Lane of The New Yorker recently gave the film a favorable review. Congratulations Chris!
April 4, 2023
CCSF Cinema Alumni Success: Lyvia's House
Director and CCSF Cinema Alum Niko Volonakis
CCSF Cinema Department Alumni Niko Volonakis and Brit Zane have completed production on Lyvia's House, a feature-length thriller that is having great success on the festival circuit. The film, directed by Volonakis and featuring Zane in a supporting role, has garnered several festival awards including: four awards at the Sin City Film Festival in Las Vegas, including Best Feature, and an Honorable Distinction in Directing Award at the Athens International Digital Film Festival. Congratulations to our talented alumni on their success!
CCSF Cinema Alum Brit Zane and Cami Oh in Lyvia's House
Press Release
Lyvia’s House, an indie psychological thriller filmed in northern California, will be hosted by Cinelounge Tiburon for a weekend of screenings from Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30, on the heels of its Oscar-qualifying run at Cinelounge Sunset in Los Angeles, April 21 through April 27.
Loosely inspired by a series of true-life murders that took place in the orchards of Sutter County, California, the film follows a young journalist and her lover who have recently moved into the former home of a disappeared Italian artist named Lyvia.
Lyvia’s House has garnered several festival awards thus far, including Honorable Distinction in Directing at Athens International Digital Film Festival, and Best Female Screenwriter at Toronto International Women's Film Festival.
Each night, following the 6:30 pm showing, there will be a meet-and-greet/Q&A session with the film’s screenwriter and producer, Patricia V. Davis, who is a former resident of Tiburon. Joining her will be the film's director, Redwood High School/ CCSF cinema production alumnus, Niko Volonakis, and the film's director of photography, Sacramento-based Cody Martin.
The audience will also be invited to participate in “Lyvia Trivia,” a game for film aficionados that earns entry into a fun movie merch drawing. All of this in the extraordinary setting of the Cinelounge Tiburon, which features luxury seating, hot organic foods, bar beverages, and its famous gourmet popcorn.
For more information on the film: lyviashouse.com
For theater information/tickets: www.cineloungefilm.com
March 8, 2023
City Shorts 2023 is now accepting entries. The festival will take place at the Roxie Theater on Sunday, May 21, 2023 1pm-3pm
The extended deadline for submissions is April 14, 2023
Submission Form for 2023 City Shorts
Have a question? Email the 2023 City Shorts Team at
ccsfcityshortsfestival2023@gmail.com
Guidelines
- The festival accepts submissions of any category: narrative, documentary, experimental
- All submissions must be under 15 minutes in length, including titles
- Submissions that recreate scenes or that contain gratuitous sex or violence will not be considered
- Submissions must have been produced from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023 as work for one of the following courses:
- CINE 24: Basic Film Production
- CINE 25: Narrative Filmmaking
- CINE 54: Cinematography & Lighting
- CINE 56: Introduction to Digital Film Editing
- CINE 57: Experimental Filmmaking
- CINE 60: Sound for Motion Pictures I
- CINE 61: Sound for Motion Pictures II
- CINE 74: Advanced Cinematography & Lighting
- CINE 126: Documentary Filmmaking
- CINE 131: Directing Motion Pictures
- CINE 136: Special Effects
- Submissions previously screened at the City Shorts Film Festival are not eligible
January 16, 2023
The CCSF Cinema Department is looking for a group of dedicated students to organize and program City Shorts for 2023. The festival will take place in May 2023. We need to have all volunteers committed by the first week of February 2023.
Students may be able to earn CINE 170 Work Experience credit for working on the festival. Please contact the CINE 170 coordinator Anjali Sundaram for more information about earning CINE 170 Work Experience credit.
Please contact Kevin Sherman or Anjali Sundaram for more information about working on the festival.
October 1, 2021
Student and Alumni Films screen at the BERNAL HEIGHTS OUTDOOR CINEMA.
Friday, October 1: Carl Lischke’s short Guest Artist and Paige Bierma’s documentary Rubber Tramps Rendezvous in the Desert
Saturday, October 2: Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Friday, October 29: Latiece Brown’s Turfin
Congratulations to Latiece Brown, winner of the Bernal Bright Star Award!
May 21, 2020
“Director Joe Talbot (Last Black Man in San Francisco) reflects on his time at City College.”
December 9, 2019
CCSF Cinema Faculty Nancy Kelly will screen the 4K digital restoration of her film Thousand Pieces of Gold at the Roxie Theater on Tuesday, December 17 at 6:30 pm. The screening is free. Please RSVP at Splashthat by Sunday, December 15, 2019. Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis.
February 2, 2019
Congratulations to CCSF Cinema Department alumni Joe Talbot & Tina Takemoto for their recent wins at the 2019 Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. Talbot's The Last Black Man in SF won both the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Collaboration at Sundance while Takemoto's Wayward Emulsions took home the Experimental Shorts Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance!