OU Film and Media Studies

Tonight (Tuesday 5/5) at 8:15pm, students in Professor Emilie Upczak’s Experiments in Film Production course showcase their work on the south side exterior wall of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (adjacent to the Catlett Music Center on Elm, on the north end of the Rupel J. Jones Fine Arts Center) for a public projection screening.

Over the course of the semester, these students have immersed themselves in the practice of experimental filmmaking — exploring the craft through a series of micro-experiments and short art films, delving into the creative possibilities the form allows.

Tonight’s projection marks the culmination of that work, bringing their final experimental pieces out of the classroom and onto the side of one of OU’s most iconic buildings.

(Photos below from yesterday as we prepped for the screening!)

Bring your lawn chairs and join us for an unforgettable evening! Congrats to all of the students involved, and thank you to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, FMS Production Manager David Burkhart, and Professor Emilie Upczak for coordinating this event!

OU Film and Media Studies would like to congratulate all of the recent participants of the 2026 Redbud FMS Student Film Showcase. Now in its second year, the event highlights student work from throughout the year and gives parents, family, and friends a chance to share in the experience.

For many students, it was an opportunity to showcase their hard work. For others, it served as a capstone to their time in the department — an early farewell before the next chapter begins.

The evening also included the presentation of FMS awards and scholarships, recognizing outstanding student achievement across the program.

A special thank you to Sofia Menniti for leading the event and bringing it all together. Thank you as well to department chair Man-Fung Yip, administrator Jenny Chuong, and Production Manager David Burkhart for their support in helping make the evening a success.

We would also like to thank Professor Elijah Felkins and Production Lab Assistant William Little for their live event assistance. And last but not least, Professor Carolina Rueda and Lizzie Esther for hosting our awards and discussion segments.

Finals week is next week—time to buckle down for final papers and projects. Best of luck to everyone in the home stretch!

FMS would like to congratulate the following award recipients:

Al La Valley Memorial Writing Award: Sofia Menniti
Andrew S. Horton Screenwriting Award: Jolseff Corley & Sofia Menniti
Ned Hockman Filmmaking Award: Noelle Aafedt & Justus Denson
Kaid/Karriker Film and Media Studies Scholarship: Noelle Aafedt & Joseph Carlson
Jeanne Hoffman Smith Endowed Scholarship: Breckan Cooper, Jesse Addison Davis, Alexis Etherton, Niya Rhodes, Sofia Menniti, and Mason Prince

Film editor Randi Atkins (Sorry, Baby) recently made a visit to Film and Media Studies to share her extensive industry experience and insights with our students. Her talk focused on the career path of a film editor and offered guidance and advice to those who were interested in pursuing the field. In addition to a conversational panel, she attended our Editing class (taught by Professor Jordan Martin), and hosted a screening of Sorry, Baby at Rodeo Cinema the week before.

We’re appreciative of Randi for her time and effort, as well as Professor Martin for helping to facilitate this event. Sometimes the best film career advice can come from people working in the business, and we’re always appreciative of those filmmakers who come to visit.

We are incredibly proud of FMS student and Production Lab Assistant Sofia Menniti, who was recently selected as one of just 30 undergraduate students nationwide for the SBIFF Film Studies Program at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival— one of the most prestigious festivals in the country and a key stop on the awards-season calendar.

Over four days, Sofia attended red-carpet screenings, intimate award ceremonies honoring Adam Sandler and Ethan Hawke, and a series of industry panels featuring Oscar-nominated producers, directors, artisans, and casting directors. One of the most meaningful moments was the Women Filmmakers Panel with six women working on this year’s Oscar-nominated films — producers, directors, sound designers, costume designers, and writers — a powerful reminder of the depth of female creative leadership shaping cinema today.

Sofia described the Casting Directors Panel as the highlight: “Seeing and hearing from casting directors like Nina Gold, Francine Maisler, Jennifer Venditti, and Cassandra Kulukundis — people who have shaped some of the most celebrated films of the year — was truly amazing. They are such a huge inspiration to me.” She also had the rare opportunity to attend a private Q&A with a filmmaker and ask her own questions — the kind of access that turns a festival into a career-defining experience.

We congratulate Sofia on her experience, and encourage all FMS students to explore competitive programs like the SBIFF Film Studies Program–experiences like this are exactly what a career in film is built on. We have no doubt this is just one of many chapters in what promises to be an incredibly bright future ahead!

FMS was honored to host award-winning filmmakers Max Walker-Silverman and Juliana Barreto Barreto to campus as part of the Ned Hockman Speakers Series. We're so grateful for their time and generosity in sharing their creative process with our students.

Max met with Professor Emilie Upczak's Directing course to discuss collaborating with actors and making intentional camera choices. He shared his experience working with both professional actors and non-actors, and students read through a scene from his film Rebuilding to explore how they'd approach shooting it. Students also had one-on-one sessions with the filmmakers throughout the day.�

The next afternoon, Juliana led a production design workshop, giving students a behind-the-scenes look at the creative role of a production designer and how to dress a set to support a scene's story and tone.�

Their visit wrapped up Wednesday evening with a screening of Rebuilding and a Q&A at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The filmmakers discussed their casting process, creative risks, and pre-production approach, and emphasized the importance of keeping those film school relationships alive after graduation. It was an incredible learning experience for everyone who attended.

�Huge thanks to the Hockman Family Filmmakers Fund for making this possible!��

Please check out the trailer for Max Walker-Silverman's Rebuilding (2025). Max and the movie's production designer, Juliana Barreto Barreto will be in attendance and visiting FMS classes that week! See below for the details!

Rebuilding Screening
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Auditorium (555 Elm Avenue)
5:15 PM: Reception with refreshments
6:00 PM: Screening + live Q&A

Production Design Workshop with Juliana Barreto Barreto
1:00–3:00 PM
Wallace Old Science Hall, Room 323
This is the fourth standout event in the series (following Lagueria Davis, Mickey Reece, and Jules Koostachin) — a rare chance to connect with working filmmakers, ask real questions, and gain insight into directing and production design. All free for FMS students and the community.

Rebuilding | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street Watch the Official Trailer for Rebuilding In Select Theaters November 14. Additional Cities Coming Soon. Find Your City and Get Tickets:https://bleeckerstree...

FMS is thrilled to continue the Ned Hockman Speakers Series (thanks to the Hockman Family Filmmakers Fund) with an incredible lineup!

Join us for a FREE screening of the powerful feature film Rebuilding (2025) with director Max Walker-Silverman and production designer Juliana Barreto Barreto in attendance.

Max (A Love Song, C**j Boys of Summer) and Juliana (Triple Frontier, Jungle, A Love Song) will introduce the film, stay for an exclusive Q&A with faculty, staff, and students, and Juliana will also lead a production design workshop earlier that day.

Rebuilding Screening
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Auditorium (555 Elm Avenue)
5:15 PM: Reception with refreshments
6:00 PM: Screening + live Q&A

Production Design Workshop with Juliana Barreto Barreto
1:00–3:00 PM
Wallace Old Science Hall, Room 323

This is the fourth standout event in the series (following Lagueria Davis, Mickey Reece, and Jules Koostachin) — a rare chance to connect with working filmmakers, ask real questions, and gain insight into directing and production design. All free for FMS students and the community.

Check out the trailer on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xts1LhfqNEQ

We can’t wait to see you there!

FMS welcomes everyone back for the Spring 2026! We're kicking off the semester much like last year: with a winter storm rolling through. Despite the cold, FMS is staying warm with exciting updates: we've upgraded the FMS Production Lab with new equipment and capabilities, and we're offering more filmmaking electives than ever–directing, editing, experimental filmmaking, production design, and more–making full use of our dedicated spaces.

These enhancements give our students real opportunities to explore ideas, build skills, and share their creative paths for this semester and beyond.

Learn film history. Make film history. Do both right here.

FMS, in collaboration with Native Crossroads Film Festival and deadCenter Film, is hosting Cree Canadian writer/director Jules Koostachin to OU this coming November 10-12 as part of the Ned Hockman Speakers Series. The featured event will be a free public screening of her 2023 National Film Board of Canada documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow), followed by a Q&A with the director moderated by our own Dr. Joanna Hearne.

Date: November 10, 2025
Time: 4:15 pm: Reception; 5:00 pm: Screening and Q&A
Place: Sam Noble Museum Auditorium

We are honored to host such an accomplished filmmaker and hope you can join us and meet her in person!

WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) moves beyond intergenerational …

This past Thursday, students in FMS Professor Emilie Upczak’s Advanced Filmmaking class participated in a color grading workshop led by non-fiction filmmaker and University of Colorado–Boulder professor Eric Coombs Esmail. Using footage from an upcoming documentary he’s collaborating on with Professor Upczak, students gained hands-on experience in color grading and learned to navigate DaVinci Resolve.

We’re grateful for Professor Esmail’s visit! Professor Upczak’s students are gearing up to start production on their own films this week and have already benefited from visits by several guest filmmakers this semester.

This summer, producers from Jimmy Kimmel Live! contacted FMS seeking students for paid roles during the NBA Finals, featuring the 2025 champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. FMS student Preston Schnoor and recent graduate Charisma Ganye were chosen, and both made a strong impression on the crew. Congratulations to them for their outstanding work!

“Working on Jimmy Kimmel Live! built on my previous set experiences, challenging my quick thinking and creativity. The crew was funny and hardworking, making filming in OKC thrilling. My favorite part was engaging with fans during the buzz of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Their enthusiasm and pride for their team was infectious. I’m excited for future opportunities with the show!” – Preston Schnoor