Students, faculty, family, and industry judges gathered in Lupton Auditorium at Oglethorpe University on March 20 for the sixth annual Last Looks student film festival.
Twenty-six films spanning from animation to experimental were shown to an audience of more than 100 people. Significant standouts were “Hair” by Lia Kusky, “From Her Hands to His” by Kaylee Kula, and “Dog Problems” by Paul Danner. Each of those three films won two awards.
“Dog Problems” won the Audience Favorite award and came in first for Best Overall, the most prestigious award of the evening.
“I’m in shock,” said Danner, who was visibly shaking. “I feel really good. I’m just so honored, so grateful.”
The film was inspired by the song “Dog Problems” by The Format and depicts a relationship, a breakup, and the subsequent healing and personal growth that follows. For last year’s festival, Danner submitted a documentary film titled “Divided We Fall,” which won Second Overall.
Lia Kusky’s “Hair” won Best Documentary Film and First Place in Capturing Culture, a category intended to celebrate racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender diversity. The documentary featured interviews with fellow classmates about how their haircuts affirm their identities, as well as an interview with Jordan Palmer, co-owner of an LGBTQ+ friendly hair salon in Nebraska and viral TikTok content creator. It was Kusky’s first time submitting to Last Looks.
“It was really surreal to me, winning those two awards: not just one award, but two awards,” they said. “So I’m kind of psyched out far away from my body, but in a good way.”
“With everything that’s been going on just in the world, I really wanted to make something that resonated with me and the people that I surround myself with,” Kusky said. “I also wanted to put something out there that wasn’t just talking about how everything’s kind of bad right now. I kind of wanted to put something out there that reminded people of who they are and the people who support them.”
Before the festival started, a VIP networking event was held for students who submitted work to be able to meet and talk with film industry professionals. Oglethorpe film professor and industry veteran Brian Bremer’s festival involvement included contacting working film professionals in his network to serve as judges for the submitted films and provide feedback for students.
This year’s judges were sound mixer Greg Crawford, casting director Rhavynn Drummer, Emmy-winning television producer Mary Grace Higgs, filmmaker Michel Monty, and founder of Electric Owl Studios Dan Rosenfelt.
Bremer has been with the film program at Oglethorpe since its inception in the fall of 2019 and has assisted with the film festival for four years. With 40 years of experience in the film industry – both on-camera and behind the scenes – Bremer is a mentor for students curious about the art and the trade of filmmaking. With Atlanta being a major hub in the global film industry, Oglethorpe University film students have the opportunity to get exposed to local professionals and get hands-on experience in their field.
“We don’t create art in isolation. So [the festival] is a chance for [the students] to see if what they’re doing is working,” Bremer said. “Are people laughing when they’re supposed to laugh? Are people feeling what they’re supposed to feel? Is their creative voice and vision that they’ve worked so hard to develop ‘in the lab’ working out there in the population?”
Find the winners in each category and the festival’s full program below.
Best Narrative Film:
“My Life is a Movie” by Vasilina Kolesnikova
Best Documentary Film:
“Hair” by Lia Kusky
Best Experimental Video:
“Xin Liu: Hope and Reflection” by Eden Rowell
Best Promotional Video:
“P.O.V. Trailer” by Nina Mello
Capturing Culture:
Third Place: “A Republic, If You Can Keep It” by Evan Williams
Second Place: “From Her Hands to His” by Kaylee Kula
First Place: “Hair” by Lia Kusky
Best Overall:
Third Overall: “Sloth: Official Trailer” by Ethan Snipes
Second Overall: “From Her Hands to His” by Kaylee Kula
First Overall: “Dog Problems” by Paul Danner
Audience Favorite:
“Dog Problems” by Paul Danner
2026 Last Looks Film Festival Program
- “OSHA Workplace Essentials: IN SPACE!” by Gianluca Ruocco
- “Practice” by Mehria Aziz
- “The Digital Body Through the Eyes of Diane Severin Nguyen’s Photography” by Lunar Jenkins
- “Side Effects May Vary” by Loni Gipson
- “From Her Hands to His” by Kaylee Kula
- “Please Only Take One” by Ethan Snipes
- “Enroacher” by Molly McKenna
- “P.O.V. Trailer” by Nina Mello
- “The Chronicles of Sheriff Mustache” by Lia Kusky
- “Dear Friend” by Anna Becknell
- “Beyond Borders” by Sofia Arias Riveros
- “Four Horsemen: A Matter of Perspective” by Evan Williams
- “The Grind” by Marques Tomme
- “Dog Problems” by Paul Danner
- “Swallow” by Sabelle Adams and Eden Rowell
- “The Dream” by Maria Washington
- “They are Watching” by Kyla Baker
- “Life Behind the Plate” by Gavin Latham
- “Brothers” by Ruben Martinez
- “Sloth: Official Trailer” by Ethan Snipes
- “An Audition” by Paul Danner
- “Hair” by Lia Kusky
- “My Life is a Movie” by Vasilina Kolesnikova
- “alienate” by Asante Allwood
- “Xin Liu: Hope and Reflection” by Eden Rowell
- “A Republic, If You Can Keep It” by Evan Williams