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04/04/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/04/2026 21:29

Film About an Immigrant Family’s Struggles to Stay Together Wins First Place at COM’s Redstone Film Festival

Film About an Immigrant Family's Struggles to Stay Together Wins First Place at COM's Redstone Film Festival

Si Solamente director Kerlin Campos (COM'26) (left), Xavier Rosario, and Sofia Gonzalez Irigoyen (COM'26), with their trophies for top film.

Film & TV

Film About an Immigrant Family's Struggles to Stay Together Wins First Place at COM's Redstone Film Festival

Annual Boston University competition celebrates the year's best student films and scripts

April 4, 2026
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When Sofia Gonzalez Irigoyen was offered the chance to produce Si Solamente, a film about an immigrant family struggling to stay together under the threat of ICE, she knew she had to do it.

"This project has meant so much to me," Irigoyen (COM'26) said as she accepted the film's first-place award at BU's 46th annual Redstone Film Festival April 3. "I am an immigrant. I moved here in 2008 from Mexico, and it's a scary time right now to be someone like me. I became a citizen last year, thank God… Being able to help the team make this story was something that I knew in the bottom of my heart was what I was supposed to do."

Written and directed by Kerlin Campos (COM'26), Si Solamente swept multiple categories, winning awards for best screenplay, editing, sound design, production design, and actor.

The evening at the Tsai Performance Center drew a packed house, complete with a red carpet, and in some cases, sharply dressed guests. It featured screenings of six original short films by College of Communication film and television students. First-, second-, and third-place awards, along with technical honors, were presented to the filmmakers, who were cheered on by a crowd of actors, crews, classmates, families, and faculty.

Craig Shepherd, a COM professor of the practice of film and television and chair of the film and television department, described the night as one of COM's most meaningful events of the year.

"Tonight is about celebrating great films, bold storytelling, sharp writing, and the outstanding work of our film and television studies students," he said. "None of these projects happen in isolation. They're built on support-emotional, financial, and creative-from family, friends, faculty, and classmates. To everyone who helped get these projects across the line, thank you."

This year's finalists were chosen by a selection committee, and a panel of film industry professionals judged the finalists.

The awards are sponsored by the Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation, established by the late Boston native and billionaire media magnate Sumner M. Redstone (Hon.'94). Cash prizes were awarded to help the filmmakers fund their next project.

Second place went to All I See Is Gray, directed by Amanda Hess (COM'26). The film follows a Black veteran's family as they navigate their father's psychogenic blindness.

"Our film speaks to themes that are relevant right now: mental health, family, and what it means to serve a country that doesn't always serve you in return," said Nefeli Koutsouki (COM'26), the film's producer. "It highlights voices and experiences that are not often told on screen, particularly those of veterans and people of color." The film was shot entirely in Boston with a diverse crew and a SAG-AFTRA, POC-led cast.

Third place winner Lola's director and writer Dylan Gozdziewsky (COM'26) (left) and producer Akaash Khurana (COM'26) accept their awards. "At a time when queer stories are being challenged and erased, telling this one is necessary," the film's website says.

The drama Lola was awarded third place. Directed and written by Dylan Gozdziewsky (COM'26), the film follows a young man who discovers that his late uncle was a drag performer who died of AIDS. He goes in search of his uncle's former partner and discovers the world of drag, which forces him to confront his own identity and the legacy of queer resilience. "At a time when queer stories are being challenged and erased, telling this one is necessary," the film's website notes.

This year's other finalists: Before I Bleed, a documentary about PMS (premenstrual syndrome), a medical condition caused by hormone changes that many women experience one week before menstruation, had stories from women of different backgrounds; Pirate Nights, dealing with a dystopian near future where plastic has begun to erupt from people's skin (featuring gnarly makeup); and Closest to the Heart, a film about an accomplished accordion player living in Tachen, China, which has earned the nickname of "Accordian City," for its rich heritage of accordion culture.

Awards were also given for alumni short films, student-written screenplays, and film and television graduate students' thesis projects.

Many of the winners took the podium to offer brief remarks, thanking their crews, professors, and families for their support.

Angel Vincent (COM'25) won second place for her short screenplay Not a Sinner. She said that growing up, she was "often told that spaces like these weren't meant for me, but today is a reminder that when you believe in your voice and remain committed to your dreams, even when the path feels uncertain, anything is possible."

Angel Vincent (COM'25), who won second place and a $750 cash prize for her short screenplay Not a Sinner,made an especially heartfelt speech, touching on how the COM master's program gave her the tools and the confidence to "speak her truth" through storytelling.

"Being recognized here means more to me than I can fully express, as a little brown girl from humble beginnings," she said. "I was often told that spaces like these weren't meant for me, but today is a reminder that when you believe in your voice and remain committed to your dreams, even when the path feels uncertain, anything is possible… Thank you for believing in storytellers like me. And this is just the beginning of my story."

Full list of winners:

  • First Place: Si Solamente-Sofia Gonzalez Irigoyen (COM'26) and Kerlin Campos (COM'26)
  • Second Place: All I See Is Gray-Nefeli Koutsouki (COM'26) and Amanda Hess (COM'26)
  • Third Place: Lola-Laura Sessi-Knott (COM'25), Dylan Gozdziewski (CAS'26, COM'26), and Akaash Khurana (COM'26)
  • Best Documentary: Closest to the Heart, directed by Lina Barclay (COM'25)
  • Best Screenplay: Si Solamente, written by Kerlin Campos (COM'26)
  • Best Cinematography: All I See Is Gray, cinematography by James Ninneman (COM'26)
  • Best Editing: Si Solamente, edited by Wilmer Castro (COM'27)
  • Best Sound Design: Si Solamente, sound designer Vivian Dai (CAS'24)
  • Best Production Design: Si Solamente, production designer Piper Hope (COM'26)
  • Best Actor: Mariah Gonzalez, who played the older sister, Esme, in Si Solamente
  • Audience Choice Award: All I See Is Gray, directed by Amanda Hess (COM'26)
  • Alumni Short Film Award: A Grieving Heart, directed by Wendy Cong Zhao (COM'11)

Film and Television Studies Award for Innovative Scholarship

This award is given to outstanding students in the MFA Film and TV Studies Program, based on their thesis projects, as chosen by faculty.

Maggie Styer (COM'26), for her academic paper titled "An 'Offensive Mechanism': Queer Murder as Defiance in Hannibal, Yellowjackets, and AMC's Interview with the Vampire"

and

Jiayue "Cathy" Wang (COM'26), for her academic paper titled "From Ideological Illusion to Embodied Engagement: Rethinking Apparatus Theory Through Leviathan (2012) and De humani corporis fabrica (2022)"

The Film and Television Department Short Screenplay Contest

First prize: Kevin Nguyen (COM'25), The Spaces Between Us
Second prize: Angel Vincent (COM'25), Not a Sinner
Third prize: Timothy Santora (COM'26), Compulsion

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