Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 6:00 pm
James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Student hosts: Nyelah Sawyer and Jakob Roston
Big stories. Bold visions. One unforgettable night.
The Thesis Showcase is the grand finale for our directors in the UCLA TFT MFA Production program— a cinematic celebration of their final films and years of fearless creativity. These thesis projects represent the culmination of each filmmaker’s voice, craft, and vision, brought to life on the big screen.
Come discover the storytellers who are ready to take the industry by storm—and catch their work here first.
Distinguished Alumni Award: Cauleen Smith
Cauleen Smith was raised in Sacramento, California and l
ives in Los Angeles. Smith is faculty in the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. Smith holds a BA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater Film and Television. Smith is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a 2022 Heinz Award; Guggenheim Fellowship; Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize; Ellsworth Kelly Award; The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts; and a Rauschenberg Residency. Smithʼs works have been featured in solo exhibitions at institutions such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA; Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX; and Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, among others. Her work is included in many public collections, such as the Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Studio Museum Harlem; Smithsonian Museum of American Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The Thesis Films
The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville & Documentary – dir. Eileen McNulty
Logline: A group of regional theater actors build a show for a quirky small town theater. Both staged and unstaged this film plays inside, outside (within and, conversely explicitly celebrating being outside) the proscenium.
Las Uvas – dir. Isabella Uzcátegui
Logline: During New Year’s Eve festivities, sisters Eli and Ani’s fun is cut short when Ani discovers a family secret.
BanKyung – dir. Soyeong Emma Chang
Logline: Kyung-Su, a Korean man quickly climbing the corporate ladder in LA, hears about his father’s disappearance while awaiting a promised promotion. As he struggles to locate his father, Kyung-Su learns who he truly is.
I Have My Father’s Feet – dir. Alexandria Daniels
Logline: After her father kicks her out of the family home, Lisa must reconcile with her family’s shame surrounding her intuitive, psychic gifts.
Petichor – by Cortney Colvig (dir. Emma Chang)
Logline: Mira is killed by a mysterious man just as she’s about to solve her best friend’s murder, only to be thrust back in time to the day Aleena disappeared. With fragmented knowledge, she races to stop the crime, but instead uncovers a dark secret that traps them both in a relentless cycle of recurring tragedy.
GARDENERS – dir. Merry May Ma
Logline: At the risk of losing her job, a burned-out chemical engineer teeters on the edge of a breakdown but a chance encounter with a mushroom musician reveals an unexpected discovery hidden in her nano-landscapes.
Martian Memories – dir. Jakob Roston
Logline: A journey through smell, taste, and memory as I investigate my enigmatic neuroscientist grandfather’s research on food for Mars.
Small Claims – dir. Shizue Roche Adachi
Logline: When a neighbor’s dogs kill 25 of her sheep, a Japanese American city kid turned shepherd takes her fight for justice to court—only to find her own claims to belonging put on trial.
Extraña – dir. Paloma Ronquillo
Logline: Sapphire Lechuga’s life turns upside down when a new neighbor moves in.
ASSASS – dir. Nyelah Sawyer
Logline: When a visit from the governor upends their quiet home life, two lesbian besties on the eve of their suicide pact find the enemy of their enemy is, in fact their friend – even if that “friend” turns out to be a rambunctious veteran with a half-baked assassination plan.
Issa’s Salvation – dir. Ibrahim Rana
Logline: An unravelling behavior, leads a couple to believe their son to be possessed.
Sweet Somethings – dir. Zoe Mathewson
Logline: After running into her dead dad in the grocery store, 12 year-old Rena hangs fliers around town in an attempt to find him again.
vegas, reflected – dir. Shucheng Yan
Logline: Reflections of Vegas. Reflections on Vegas. Reflections in Vegas. Three Chinese immigrant women look back on their lives as casino workers in a city that never looks at them.
Madman’s Diary – dir. Michelle Li
Logline: After a mysterious outbreak, a Chinese American woman becomes convinced that those around her are going to eat her. Whether it’s madness or revelation remains in question.