Student Film Festival FINE CUT Now Accepting Submissions From California Film School Students With Call For 2026 Entries
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Chelsea Grosbeck
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FINE CUT will stream on the free PBS app and at pbssocal.org/finecut.
Los Angeles, Calif. – March 30, 2026 – PBS SoCal, Southern California's flagship PBS station, announced today that the annual FINE CUT Festival of Films is now accepting submissions for the 2026 season from film school students across the state of California. Every year, the festival encourages promising filmmakers who are currently enrolled in or recently graduated from California film schools to submit short films (25 minutes or less) in Documentary, Animation and Narrative categories completed after January 2024. Finalists will be included in a series of broadcast episodes airing locally and streaming this fall while winners will receive valuable prize packages. Following the broadcast, each episode of FINE CUT will stream at pbssocal.org/finecut and on the free PBS app. The deadline for students to submit short films for consideration is June 3, 2026 on the platform www.filmfreeway.com/finecut. Full list of rules and regulations can be found here.
FINE CUT Festival of Films showcases local student filmmaking with funding made possible by The Bridges / Larson Foundation. In 2025, each of the winning filmmakers received a variety of prize packages valued to be worth more than $45,000. Winners in each of the categories received a $2,500 savings deposit from First Entertainment Credit Union. Other prizes included filmmaking resources such as rental equipment, animation software, design tools and more. One winner received the prestigious Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award commemorating FINE CUT founder Jack Larson's commitment to fostering new generations of filmmakers in California.
The FINE CUT program also includes a fall awards ceremony/screening event and last year was hosted by Variety’s Television Executive Editor Michael Schneider and Senior Entertainment Writer Angelique Jackson. The event took place at the Eagle Theatre at Vidiots just prior to the series’ broadcast premiere where honorees in each of the three categories and The Jack Larson Award recipient were awarded their prizes.
This festival is a tribute to Fine Cut founder, Jack Larson. In the late 1990s, the actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer had the idea of creating a student film series that would provide talented students with the much-needed opportunity to have their short films selected for television broadcast. Larson understood how difficult it was for young filmmakers to get broad exposure for their work because, typically, student work is only seen at special screenings and film festivals. Larson thought that public television was an excellent platform for providing critical visibility to emerging filmmakers. PBS SoCal shares Larson’s enthusiasm for showcasing local student filmmaking and 27 seasons later, FINE CUT continues to be a tentpole program for Southern California’s flagship PBS organization.
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Funding for Fine Cut is generously provided by The Bridges/Larson Foundation.
About PBS SoCal
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member- supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal manages 7 channels — including 2 primary broadcast channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus as well as 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal reaches nearly 19M viewers in the region with programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal programming is available to viewers over-the-air, on all key streaming platforms via the free PBS App and PBS KIDS App. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.