Last week, the four winners of the Dolby Institute x Ghetto Film School Filmmaker Challenge: Finish the Script Year 2 premiered their completed short films at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
The four emerging filmmakers were selected as winners back in September. Their challenge was to devise stories using a scene written by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting, Raya and the Last Dragon) as a starting point.
Each winner received $25,000 to complete their respective short films. They also received ongoing mentorship from Estrada and learned how to best use Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to elevate their filmmaking.
In the sci-fi comedy film Pause/Play, directed by Kaitlyn Ali, a gamer stumbles into an alternate realm and helps her recently deceased idol pass on into the next life.
Fruits of Your Labor, directed by Britney Bautista, is the story of a 17-year-old Tik Tok influencer who leaves her glamorous life behind when she switches bodies with local fruit vendor Marisol Aguilar, by the fate of one magical mango.
Zora’s Last Day on Earth, directed by Miguel Ramirez, is the story of a terminally ill person who decides to take an experimental transfusion pill that allows them to enter their 21-year-old body for just one day.
The story of Sirens, directed by Thomas Sawyer, follows Whitney, an insecure teenager struggling with their identity. Haunted by a mysterious sound and visions of an ornery siren, the teen finds themselves trapped in an alternate world where, in order to escape, they must find the courage to be themselves.