For the third straight year, the student portion of the Washington West Film Festival will take place at Lightridge on May 28.

The Washington West Film Festival, originally started in 2011, is a nonprofit organization that helps connect people with films. The festival, which has been named as one of the top five film festivals in the United States by USA Today, regularly screens thirty to forty films, in a variety of genres, by filmmakers from all over the world.

On February 28th, Brad Russell, the founder of the Washington West Film Festival, visited Lightridge to give an information session to students who were interested.

He emphasized gathering a cast and crew to help develop the short films that students would be interested in.

“You can write a script alone,” said Brad Russell, “but you can’t make a movie alone.”

If students decide to submit a short film and get selected, they could win official laurels from Washington West. The best student short film and the best student director can win $500 cash prizes, a glass trophy, and an additional prize from festival sponsor, Amazon,

For the short films, the films have to be PG-13 type content and must run less than five minutes. If seniors decide to participate, it could count as their senior capstone project.

The deadline to submit short films will be May 2 and can be submitted at filmfreeway.com/WWFilmFestival and if you use the code WWFFLCS2025 for free entry to waive the costs.