

Cinema Culturas Storytelling and Film Student Competition seeks to encourage and enhance K-12 students’ 4 C’s of 21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication. Cinema Culturas expands on this learning model by incorporating two additional C’s in its educational program: Culture and Community. Our organization’s key tenets of diversity and inclusion are observed through fun and educational forums for all students to participate via storytelling and visual dynamics of film, and having both local and global communities come together to support students. We want the youth of today to be resilient dreamers, and for all of us to create a promising and inclusive future with every story they imagine.
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WINNERS

Early Elementary School Students from 1st to 3rd grade
1st Place: Mia Navarro, A.I. Robot Wars, Riverside, Castle View Elementary, Short Film.
2nd Place: Sofia, Salma and Selena Mirghafouri-Herrera, Tomorrow's Future, Riverside, Lake Mathews Elementary, Short Film.
3rd Place: Marwa Ali, Error 404, Egypt. International Story
Upper Elementary School Students from 4th to 6th grade
1st Place: Madeline Wan, Our New World, Riverside, Riverside STEM Academy, Short Story
2nd Place: Diego Villarreal, Diego´s 2050: Creativity at Risk, Carlsbad California, Calavera Hills Middle School, Short film
3rd Place: Audrey McKee, Time Travel, Riverside, Taft Elementary, Short Story
Middle School Students from 7th to 9th grade
1st Place: Faith Peppers, Year 2050: AI in Education, Riverside, Arizona Middle School, Short Film
2nd Place: Blake Verrett, Alex Verrett, AI 2050: Are you Lonely?, Riverside, Poly High School/Gage Middle School, Short Film
3rd Place: Michelle Wan, Our Future: The Influence of AI, Riverside, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Short Film.
High School Students from 10th to 12th grade
1st Place: Damían Mendoza, The Great AI war: Bumblebees vs Hornets, Riverside, John W. North High School, Short Story
2nd Place: Dean Gofnung, Wired, Bell Canyon, Short Film.
3rd Place: Jesse Larragoitiy, Jennifer Lopez, Jaqueline Sanchez, Scarlett Vasquez, Charlotte Vasquez, Alejandrina Vasquez, Codelines | 2025 Prompt Film, Riverside, Norte Vista High School, Short Film.
Special Mention
Early Elementary School Students from 1st to 3rd grade
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Brian Warren-MacKay, About airplanes, Harada Elementary School. Riverside, CA. Short Story
Upper Elementary School Students from 4th to 6th grade
- Aurora Villamil, Robotic Heart, Riverside, Harrison Elementary School, Short Story
- GPT meni, Croatia Students
Middle School Students from 7th to 9th grade
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Little Anonymous Mobile Phone Users, Vittorio Caratozzolo. Trento Italia, Short Film
High School Students from 10th to 12th grade
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Angel Hernandez, The Rise of AI Fighter Jets, Riverside, John W. North High School, Short Story.
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Emmanuel Pudussery, Elizabeth Pudussery, Future Echoes: A Short Film, Riverside STEM High School, Short Film.
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Eva Nuno, U.S. vs A.I., Riverside, John W. North High School, Short Story.
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Rubí Rayón Dávila, Year 2050: Dot's Life With AI, Arizona Middle School, Short Film
WINNERS
Upper Elementary School Students from 4th to 6th grade
2nd Place / Short Film

Diego Villarreal
"DIEGO´S 2050: Creativity at Risk"
Calavera Hills Middle School
6th Grade
Carlsbad, California
USA

WINNERS
Middle School Students from 7th to 9th grade
WINNERS
High School Students from 10th to 12th grade
SPECIAL MENTION
Early Elementary School Students from 1st to 3rd grade
Short Film

Brian Bruno Warren-MacKay
"About airplanes"
Harada Elementary
1st Grade
Riverside
USA
SPECIAL MENTION
Upper Elementary School Students from 4th to 6th grade
Short Story

Aurora Villamil
"Robotic Heart"
Harrison Elementary
5th Grade
Riverside
USA
Short Story

Lucija Kranjčić, Kala Šmic, Klara Nagy, Franka Bogović, Vita Dvoržak, Sara Majnarić, Anabela Mlinarić
"GPT_Meni"
Vanima School
5th Grade
Varaždin
Croatia
SPECIAL MENTION
Estudiantes de Secundaria
Short Film

Vittorio Caratozzolo & Class 3 A
"Little Anonymous Mobile Phone Users"
SSPG "Giacomo Bresadola" - Istituto Comprensivo Trento 5
5th Grade
Trento
Italy
SPECIAL MENTION
High School Students from 10th to 12th grade
Short Story

Angel Hernandez
"The Rise of AI Fighters Jets"
John W. North High School
12th Grade
Riverside
USA
Short Film

Emmanuel Pudussery, Elizabeth Pudussery
"Future Echoes: A Short Film"
Riverside STEM High School
11th Grade
Riverside
USA
Short Story

Evan Nuno
"US vs AI"
John W. North High School
12th Grade
Riverside
USA
Short Film

Rubí Rayón Dávila
"Year 2050: Dot's Life With AI "
Arizona Middle School
8th Grade
Riverside
USA
FINALISTS

Click on each window to read / see the stories
Middle School Students from 7th to 8th grade
1

Kailee Mayhew
"Snapshot Into The Future"
University High Middle School
8th Grade
Riverside
USA
2

Ana Ríos
"Drones in Firefighting - The Year 2050"
Arizona Middle School
8th Grade
Riverside
USA
3

Chuky Nguyen
"AI Education"
Arizona Middle School
8th Grade
Riverside
USA
4

Sarah Churchwell
"2050: Great Artificial Goverment"
Amelia Eartheart Middle School
7th Grade
Riverside
USA
5

Nibodh Neupane
"AI takes over "
Marthin Luther King High
11th Grade
Riverside
USA
6

Harley Jay
"TIME/SPLASH"
Louis Armstrong Middle School
9th Grade
Los Angeles
USA
7

Vittorio Caratozzolo & Class 3 A
"Evolution"
Istituto Comprensivo Trento 5
5th Grade
Trento
Italy
8

Vittorio Caratozzolo & Class 2 A
"Sleepily Sleepless"
Giacomo Bresadola
5th Grade
Trento
Italy
High School Students from 10th to 12th grade
9

Antonio Alejo
"A Typical Day Of Tony's Life With AI"
John W. North High School
12th Grade
Riverside
USA
10

Ivan Flores
"Gas Cars vs Electric Cars"
John W. North High School
12th Grade
Riverside
USA
11

José Gonzales
"Me and AI in 2050"
John W. North High School
12th Grade
Riverside
USA
12

Alpaslan Mustafa DEMİR
"End to Phone"
Fahrettin Kerim Gokay High School
12th Grade
Turkey
13

Saneev Chandran
"Fossils"
Millburn High School
11th Grade
New Jersey
USA
14

Alex Malekmehr, Ashley Ohebshalom
"Sun - Setting: A Visual Story of Los Angeles Architecture"
Milken Community School
11th Grade
Los Angeles
USA
COMPETITION JURY

Carlos Cortés Navarrete
OSCAR, BAFTA and CAS winner for Best sound on his work in the feature film El sonido del metal (2019) Carlos completed his audio engineering studies at the Recording Workshop in Ohio, USA. He began his career as an engineer touring with different bands throughout the US and his sound design career began working in theater with SAVIA and YOGAMI, which were presented at the Festival de I'Imaginaire in Paris, France.

Dan Zlotnik
Dan Zlotnik was born in Genova, Italy. He spent his childhood in Buenos Aires Argentina. At the age of 23, he moved to Mexico City. For 10 years he did over 180 shows a year, all around the world with different Pop Artists, Jazz groups, and different kind of musicians and music. He has been a saxophone player, producer and arranger for over 200CDs, six of Those CDs won Latin American Grammys, and 3 won the American Grammy. He has worked as a film and tv composer in HBO and Netflix, Amazon, and many movies. In 2016 he was nominated for the ARIEL award (by the Mexican Film Academy) for the score of The Thin yellow line (produced by Guillermo del Toro) And in his spare time, he composes music for different performances and mapping shows with visual artists and choreographers from the US, Europe, and Japan.

Ricardo Villarreal
Is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He co-directed and produced the inspiring film “Ride with Larry” and directed “The Dominguez”, a documentary about one family who shaped the history of California. He wrote and self-published the book “Gracias África” about his experiences as an international humanitarian-aid volunteer in the slums of Kibera in Kenya. He is an avid literature reader passionate about historical novels, classic literature, and Latin American contemporary works. He studied Communication Sciences at Tec de Monterrey in Mexico and has an MBA from the University of Tampa. He lives in Oceanside California.
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Brenda Lorenzi
Brenda Lorenzi is co-owner of Sunwest publishers of Inland Empire Magazine, a nationally recognized regional magazine serving the Inland Empire now in its 43rd year of publishing and Tastes Of Italia Magazine, a recipe oriented food magazine distributed nationally and internationally.
Brenda is also co-owner of Lorenzi Estate Wines which opened a tasting room in Temecula wine country in November of 2013.

Albert Lee
Cinema Culturas’ media specialist, is a professional videographer and photographer who has focused on honing his visual aesthetic acuity. Having participated in the casting process of models/actors, storyboarding, editing and other production areas, he has the full range of experience in pre-production, production, and post-production for video and photography. One of Albert Lee’s specialties is video and photography lighting: both constant and strobe, both daylight and artificial.