May 1, 2026

May 4, 2026, Long Beach, CA-The Aquarium of the Pacific is announcing the winners of its sixth annual High Tide Student Film Festival. The festival, presented by Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, encourages Southern California high school and college students to explore science and conservation through creative visual storytelling. Individuals or small teams of two to four participants submitted videos up to three minutes long for high school students and up to five minutes long for college students on one of three topics: Ocean Wildlife and the Environment; Coastal Cultures and Traditions; and Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems, their Conservation and/or Discoveries. Cash prizes were awarded to winners: $1,500 for the Gold Award, $1,000 for the Silver Award, $750 for the Bronze Award, and $500 for Honorable Mention in different categories. The event took place on April 30 at the Aquarium of the Pacific and can be viewed online. Below are the winners by category.

High Tide Student Film Festival Contest Winners

High School Category: Ocean Wildlife and the Environment

Gold: Life Under Pressure By Sydney Hyon, Monisha Raghaven, Conner Shoukeir, and Melissa Vorarat (twelfth grade) from Granada Hills Charter High School (Los Angeles, CA)

Silver: Sea Wars: The Last Hope By Lali Bushey (twelfth grade) from Granada Hills Charter High School (Los Angeles, CA)

Bronze: Seagulls By Enzo Chan, Ziva Chan, Sabrina Staats, Jiajun Zhang (eleventh grade) from Glen A. Wilson High School (Hacienda Heights, CA)

Honorable Mention: The Ghost of the Garibaldi By Lilla Angelov, Sarah Johnson, and Ieva Lopez (twelfth grade) from Millikan High School (Long Beach, CA)

High School Category: Coastal Cultures and Traditions

Gold: Shaped by the Coast By Julian Bautista, Daniel Cirata, and Jace Kilbarger (twelfth grade) from El Dorado High School (Placentia, CA)

Silver: Built by Tides, Held by Hands By Josephine Le and Esther Lee (eleventh grade) from Fountain Valley High School (Fountain Valley, CA) and Westminster High School (Westminster, CA)

Bronze: Tied to the Tide By Kira Kotol (tenth grade) from Carlsbad High School (Carlsbad, CA)

Honorable Mention: 19^th Street By Preston Jun and Kaeven Price (twelfth grade) from Los Alamitos High School (Los Alamitos, CA)

Honorable Mention: From Sea to Table By Pia Odhrani (ninth grade) from Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)

College Category: Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems, their Conservation, and/or Discoveries

Gold: Tide Pools of Crystal Cove Historic District By Quinlynn McCarthy from Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, CA)

Silver: The Life of a Tidepool By Sophia Carlin from California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)

Bronze: Conservation Through Healing By Jasmine Jennings from Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, CA)

Sponsors

Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg