Future Voices Film and Photo Festival 2020
Congratulations to all of the 2020 Future Voices Festival film and photography winners!
Lensic Future Voices encourages middle and high school students across New Mexico to tell their stories through original photographs and short films. Guided by a team of industry experts, The Lensic provides students with the support they need to create high-quality projects that are judged in monthly contests and a year-end competition, all with cash prizes.
The Future Voices Festival is an annual celebration of the top films and photographs (along with their talented creators) from our year-end competition. For the past 12 years, students have come together at the Lensic for the festival, but due to pandemic closures, the festival was held online. New Mexico students submitted 115 three-minute films and 148 photos for the 2020 competition. Our panel of expert judges reviewed them all and selected the top entries in a variety of categories. We proudly present those winning films and photos below.
Please support Future Voices of New Mexico! This Lensic education program is funded by contributions from the community. Your tax-deductible donation encourages a new generation of creativity and self-expression, and plays an important role in the future of performing arts. To donate, please visit our Education Programs donation page on Lensic.org
Watch the Award-Winning Films
Click on the image above to watch the award-winning three-minute films from this year’s Future Voices Festival!
Still from “Nothing Tastes as Sweet,” by Sean Montoya / New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe
Our 2020 Future Voices Film Winners
Narrative
First Place: “Darkness,” by Cristian Salas (Atrisco Heritage Academy, Albuquerque)
Second Place: “The Tape,” by Leif Burkman and Spencer Jones with Tomas Chacon, Margaux Ortiz, and Andrew Padilla (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Third Place: “Nothing Tastes as Sweet,” by Sean Montoya (New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe)
Documentary
First Place: “Happiness (After Roko Belic),” by Walden Shank (Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque)
Second Place: “The Mystery of Julia Staab,” by Magdelena Samora-McNeil and Charlie Koseoglu (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Third Place: “Trinity,” by Daniel Thorp and Henry Tischler (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Experimental
First Place: “Equilibrium,” by Ailin Rodriguez (Capital High School, Santa Fe)
Second Place: “The Awakening,” by Michael Gallegos, Santiago Pacheco, Jasmin Mir, and Brandon Sandoval (Atrisco Heritage Academy, Albuquerque)
Third Place: “Inbound,” by Emery Jimenez and Aaron Beltran (Atrisco Heritage Academy, Albuquerque)
Animation
First Place: “Afraid of the Dark?,” by Pano Pacheco (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Second Place: “Buffer,” by Eden Hettler (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Third Place: “Murder Mystery,” by Dominique Bransford, Ruth Calija, Jackson Reis, and IIora Pinkerton (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
PSA
First Place: “Can You Tell Who I Am?,” by Tomas Chacon, Max Tischler, Margaux Ortiz, and Kiah Kaufman (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Second Place: “Lost & Found,” by Charlie Koseoglu (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Third Place: “Cereal Soup,” by Stefan Sabo (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Comedy
First Place: “Case Chase,” by Jan Konnings and Daniel Navarrete (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Second Place: “Cryptic Cellphone,” by Alan De Lira-Richards (Capital High School, Santa Fe)
Third Place: “Why is He Always Late?,” by Ben Timm (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
See the Award-Winning Photographs
Click on the image above to see the award-winning photographs from this year’s Future Voices Festival!
Portrait by Jaydn Taylor / Desert Academy, Santa Fe
Our 2020 Future Voices Photography Winners
Color
First Place: Ash Clyne (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Second Place: Carlee Flores Hassan (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Third Place: Ash Clyne (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Honorable Mention: Sean Hinzman (Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque)
Black and White
First Place: Mya Stolz (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Second Place: Kaia Allen (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Third Place: Araceli Lopez (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Honorable Mention: Lauren Mudge (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Animals
First Place: Jillian Tompson (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Second Place: Ameila Clark (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Jillian Tompson (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Honorable Mention: Joshua Medina (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Architecture
First Place: Rosemary Jansens (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Second Place: Audrey Bohlin (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Ish Singh (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque)
Honorable Mention: Erin Kennemore (New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe)
Street
First Place: Amelia Clark (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Second Place: Vanessa Villegas (Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque)
Third Place: Jaydin Soto (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Honorable Mention: Megan Montoya (Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque)
Manipulated
First Place: Sullivan Garfield (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Second Place: Amelia Clark (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Dania Rosales (Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe)
Honorable Mention: Ilora Pinkerston (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Landscape
First Place: Aidan Brown (Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque)
Second Place: Gideon Soifer (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Sebastian Lopez (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Honorable Mention: Sam Nelson (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Portrait
First Place: Gray Garcia (Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque)
Second Place: Jaydn Taylor (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Valeria Sosa (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Most Original
First Place: Skyler Hraber (New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe)
Second Place: Gideon Soifer (Desert Academy, Santa Fe)
Third Place: Jace Merriman (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe)
Honorable Mention: Lucas Aspen All-Stier (Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque)
Special Thanks
A huge thank you to the dedicated team that makes the Future Voices Festival happen each year!
- Connie Schaekel, Future Voices Program Director
- Marcella Ernst, Future Voices Program Manager
- Reid Callanan and Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
- Jonathan Lowe and Video Magic
We also thank Randy Castillo at Laser Loot, who produced the trophies presented to our 2020 winners.
Thanks to ALL of the students and teachers who participate in the Future Voices Festival and our monthly photo and film contests.
We salute teacher Ellen Kaiper, who started the film program at Española Valley High School in 1992. Española Valley has been a part of the Lensic Future Voices program for ten years, and Ellen has helped give hundreds of children new opportunities.
Finally, we are incredibly grateful to Darlene and Jeff Anderson for their continued support of this program.