SOE AAU

04/27/2026

You’re invited to help choose the fan favorites for acting & filmmaking from this year’s crop of talent in the Schools of Entertainment.

From bold comedies to powerful dramas, from deeply personal stories to visually stunning cinematic work — this year’s NXT UP Film Festival showcases the incredible talent of 63 students from around the world.

See the nominees, watch the films, and VOTE: https://www.academyart.edu/news/nxtup-2026-vote-now/

This is some of the strongest student work we’ve seen, and we’re excited to share it with you. No need to watch everything at once—drop in when you can and vote when you’re done.

📺 Livestream our NXT UP Fest Awards Show on Wednesday, May 6th, at 7pm Pacific to see our nominees and winners.

04/27/2026

04/22/2026

NXT Up is here!
Voting for the NXT UP Audience Awards is now LIVE!

https://bit.ly/48Bxyxu

You're invited to help choose the fan favorites for acting & filmmaking from this year's crop of talent in the Schools of Entertainment.

From bold comedies to powerful dramas, from deeply personal stories to visually stunning cinematic work — this year’s NXT UP Film Festival showcases the incredible talent of 63 students from around the world.

These nominees represent a dynamic range of voices and disciplines — directors, actors, editors, producers, and more — with work spanning documentaries, narrative films, personal projects, and standout classroom creations.

Watch and vote for your favorites HERE: https://bit.ly/48Bxyxu

Our winners are selected by a panel of respected industry experts, including Oscar-nominated producers and renowned casting directors, cinematographers, and directors — so don’t miss this celebration of the future of film.

ATTEND THE NXT UP FILM FESTIVAL!

On Campus & on Zoom -- Wednesday, May 6th at 7pm (PT)

Attend in person at 79 New Montgomery, San Francisco, CA 94107

Vote for your favorite films and performers at the NXTUP Film Festival Audience Awards. Watch nominated films and join us May 7 at 7 pm PT, on-campus or via Zoom.

03/30/2026

Join us for an evening with Screenwriter-Producer Laeta Kalogridis. Most recently, she wrote the film ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR, and created and served as showrunner for the hit Netflix series ALTERED CARBON. Other writing credits include ALEXANDER (directed by Oliver Stone), SHUTTER ISLAND (directed by Martin Scorsese), BATTLE ANGEL ALITA (directed by Robert Rodriguez), TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015), PATHFINDER (2007), uncredited rewrites on the first X-MEN, the first TOMB RAIDER, and CRUELLA. She also created the TV shows BIRDS OF PREY and BIONIC WOMAN. She has been a working writer for almost 30 years.

Her producing credits include WHITE HOUSE DOWN (directed by Roland Emmerich), THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS (directed by Eli Roth) and AVATAR (directed by James Cameron).

Join us for an exclusive Q&A to get industry insights and YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

WHEN: Tuesday, April 7th, 7:00 PM Pacific Time
WHERE: Link in bio

03/20/2026

From concept to camera—film education in action 🎬✨

03/04/2026

🎥🎬 Behind the scenes of NEVER TOO LATE, a thesis film directed by Rachel Yixin Zhu on our sound stages. 🎭

02/25/2026

Submissions for NXT UP Fest are OPEN! Don’t be shy, apply now.

SUBMIT HERE: https://bit.ly/NXTUP26 (link is in bio, too)

DEADLINE: March 17th, 11:59 PM Pacific Time

02/24/2026

Join us for an evening with Executive Producer & Screenwriter Stephanie Folsom. Her film credits include Marvel’s THOR: RAGNAROK, Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS RESISTANCE series, and she co-wrote the Academy Award-winning TOY STORY 4.

She also created and executive produced PAPER GIRLS for Amazon Prime and was a consulting producer/writer on season one of LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER. Most recently, she worked on Mattel’s MATCHBOX movie starring John Cena and a new Ron Howard film.

She has some more fun things coming out soon that she’s not allowed to talk about, but you’re going to be very excited!

Join us for an exclusive Q&A to get industry insights and YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

WHEN: Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 PM Pacific Time
WHERE: https://art.zoom.us/j/3719551955

02/02/2026

A little BTS from last semester’s headshot photoshoot. 😄📸

01/29/2026

Join us for an evening with director Ron Underwood. His film credits include TREMORS, CITY SLICKERS, HEART & SOULS, SPEECHLESS, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, STEALING SINATRA, and BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS. He has also directed for critically acclaimed television series, including MONK, BOSTON LEGAL, UGLY BETTY, GREY’S ANATOMY, CASTLE, THE GOOD FIGHT, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, EVIL and ELSBETH. In addition, Ron has directed several holiday movies for television, including SANTA BABY, THE YEAR WITHOUT SANTA CLAUS and HOLIDAY IN HANDCUFFS.

Join us for an exclusive Q&A to get industry insights and YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

WHEN: Tuesday, February 10, 7:00 PM Pacific Time
WHERE: Link in bio

11/07/2025

Join us for an evening with award-winning screenwriter and director John August. His credits include ALADDIN, BIG FISH, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, CO**SE BRIDE, FRANKENWEENIE and the first two CHARLIE’S ANGELS movies. He directed the 2007 film THE NINES starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

He earned a BAFTA nomination for his script for Big Fish, and a GRAMMY nomination for his song in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In 2016, he received the Writers Guild of America West’s Valentine Davies Award in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and civic service.

In addition to his work in film, John wrote the Arlo Finch middle-grade novel trilogy, and the book for the Broadway musical of Big Fish.

Since 2012, he has co-hosted the popular weekly screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes. His company, Quote-Unquote Apps, makes utilities for writers (including Highland and Weekend Read) along with Writer Emergency Pack, which is used in 2,000 classrooms nationwide.

Join us for an exclusive Q&A to get industry insights and YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

WHEN: Wednesday, November 19, 6:30 PM Pacific Time
WHERE: Link in bio