For Orange County School of the Arts senior Julian Maya, storytelling is a way to keep family memories and traditions alive.
Now, he’s creating opportunities for other young film students to do the same. Through the Rooted Film Festival, Julian hopes to bring students together to explore their identities and share personal experiences through filmmaking.
The inaugural festival will take place this Sunday at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, where a selection of student films will be screened. The festival has received more than 600 submissions centered on the theme “Always Remembering Where It All Began,” with a portion expected to be featured at the event.
Julian, a student in OCSA’s Film & Television Conservatory, invited high school filmmakers throughout Southern California to submit short films exploring their roots and the experiences that have shaped them. His goal was to give young creatives a space to share their perspectives, connect with fellow filmmakers and discover the power of storytelling.
“As I began learning more about my own family history, I realized how important it is to preserve those stories because storytelling helps us better understand ourselves and the people who came before us,” Julian said. “I was often told by my grandparents that the retelling of stories is how they keep their memories alive. I loved the idea of using film as a way to preserve those roots and share our stories with one another. I think there’s something really powerful about learning where people come from.”
His idea quickly gained momentum. Within weeks of announcing the festival, student submissions began rolling in — a response that surprised him and reinforced his interest in creating an opportunity for young filmmakers.
He credits what he has learned through the Film & Television Conservatory with helping him develop his passion for filmmaking. He also said encouragement from OCSA Director Aaron Orullian and support from film teachers at other local schools have helped him bring the festival to life.
Bringing student stories to the big screen
The festival will recognize three filmmakers with $500 awards in the categories of Best Celebration of Culture, Best Family Story and Best Community Voice.
More than 10 films from Orange County students have been submitted, including four from OCSA. The lineup includes “Cannock Chase,” created by Northwood High School students Sam Lee and Miles Leung, “T Minus,” written and directed by OCSA student Penelope Tong, and “Pink Dress,” created by OCSA student Thierre Vu. Other submissions represent schools across the region, including Laguna Hills High School, Los Alamitos High School and Irvine High School.
Beyond the screenings, Julian gathered inspirational messages from 16 film industry professionals to encourage students as they pursue their creative interests. Student filmmakers will also have professional photos taken by Getty Images at the screening, giving them images they can add to their portfolios as they explore future opportunities in the industry.
For Julian, he hopes other students will grow their confidence and motivation to keep creating once they see how viewers responds to their films.
“As a young filmmaker myself, seeing your work on a big screen and experiencing it with an audience is incredibly exciting and rewarding,” Julian said. “It’s also an important part of growing as a filmmaker. Sharing your work allows you to hear different perspectives, receive feedback, and see how your story connects with others.”
Although the Rooted Film Festival is in its first year, Julian plans to expand participation to middle school students and eventually welcome young filmmakers from middle and high schools throughout California.
Students, families and community members are invited to attend the free Rooted Film Festival. The screening will take place from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana. Tickets can be reserved through the Rooted Film Festival website.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Orange County students scored higher in English, mathematics and science compared to statewide averages, according to new data released Thursday from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP.
- Meanwhile, on a statewide level, students showed improvements in science and slight gains in English and math with the majority still falling below grade-level standards, according to CAASPP data.
- Gang prevention, e-bike safety and mitigating hate incidents are all topics of discussion in the latest episode of the FutureCurrent podcast, where County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean and OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer explore how partnerships between educational and community agencies can foster student safety.
- OCDE recently broke ground on the returning Rancho Sonado Outdoor Education Center, marking a return for the beloved Inside the Outdoors learning site. Watch the video created by OCDE’s Media Services team for highlights from the ceremony and a look at the future of the center.
- As firefighters battle the Norte Fire near San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, nine Capistrano Unified School Districts campuses — Clarence Lobo, Harold Ambuehl and Truman Benedict elementary schools, Bernice Ayer and Shorecliffs middle schools, San Clemente and San Juan Hills high schools, and Vista del Mar — are dismissing students from school early out of an abundance of caution.
- From increasing accessibility to parent-teacher conferences to updating schools’ take-home device programs for younger students, multiple new education laws will become effective starting Jan. 1 with others requiring state agencies to create guidance.
- Fifth-grade Spanish dual immersion teacher Wendy Saldivar has been named one of five 2027 California Teachers of the Year. In May, the Loara Elementary School teacher in Anaheim was surprised by OCDE representatives and camera crews to be named an OC Teacher of the Year finalist.
- OCSA students create their very own Jack-O-Lantern art pieces for the school’s annual Visual Arts Painted Pumpkin auction. Students in the school’s visual arts conservatory use mixed mediums like paint and clay to construct and design these pumpkins to raise program funds through the online auction, which closes Oct. 16.
- EdSource has created a new guide for the recently-released California School Dashboard, helping parents statewide navigate the educational data to better understand academic progress and identify areas for improvement.
- The Troy Tech Initiative program celebrated 40 years of shaping student internships for the Fullerton Joint Union High School District campus at its recent annual program breakfast.
- Westminster School District Superintendent Dr. Gunn Marie Hansen was named among three 2026 EdTech All-Stars throughout the United States for making a lasting impact on the Westminster community by implementing its 1:1 take-home device program and improved classroom audio features to help more students find success in the classroom and at home.
- New data conducted by EdSource shows that nearly 2.6 million California students attend schools where trees cover 5 percent or less of the areas where students play outdoors.
- The Voice of OC reported that Tustin Unified School District has partnered with the Tustin Police Department to allow officers limited access to selected school security camera feeds during emergencies and certain criminal investigations.
- The Orange County Register reported that a civil lawsuit involving an Orange County Board of Education trustee who was accused of being involved in a road rage incident has been dismissed, according to court records.
- Laguna Beach students played lighthearted games of dodgeball and enjoyed food from local restaurants to raise money for local public schools at SchoolPower’s 15th Annual Dodgeball Tournament.
- From a pool of almost 3,000 universities across 118 countries and territories, nine California universities — including six in the UC system — were ranked among the top 100 higher educational institutions in the world.
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