Oscar Night 2026: Another year, another unforgettable night of student films!
For those who follow the department’s many annual traditions, one of the most beloved is Oscar Night, a night where the final outputs of Michael Chung’s Video Storytelling Course premiere as a final screening.
‘2026 Oscar Night Teaser’ by Batu Alpas
Each year, PoD’s first-year students are tasked with scripting, storyboarding, pitching, and producing a 3–5 minute film in just seven weeks. Over the course of the class, each student pitches their concept, and with the support of collaborating teams, seven final films make it into production and premiere at Oscar Night. The only guiding prompt: Each film must center around a designed object or experience from the student’s body of work, building a world where that design can flourish and tell its story.
This year, first-year students presented a wide range of genres and themes: space-altering apps, a meet-cute in the produce aisle, an eerie horror film about losing teeth, a surreal take on free will, a Wes Anderson–inspired breakup story, a cure for homesickness, and a stop-motion chair that captured everyone’s hearts by the end of the night.
With guidance from our instructor Michael Chung, dazzling second-year MCs Monty and Ben, and a gleaming panel of eight judges, the evening was one to remember. Eight Oscars were handed out, recognizing achievements ranging from costume design and sound design to best male and female lead.
In that spirit, we asked first-year students to share their favorite screen grabs from their films, along with a few words about their story and the making process.
‘The Bunny Bidding’ - Mallika Gauri Rao and Rhea Punjabi
The film “The Bunny Bidding” is about a breakup that leads to an unexpected and absurd auction, told in a playful Wes Anderson–inspired style. The twists and turns of the story, along with the bold use of color and stylized visuals, make the film both humorous and visually engaging.
The filming process was challenging but rewarding, and collaborating with a partner who shared the same vision, along with finding the right location and cast, really brought the film together.
‘Slow Atlas ’ - Lauren Wedderburn and Guangyu (Zoe) Wang
Created in Allan's Affirming Artifacts class, Slow Atlas is a short film ad for Lauren's app of the same name, a curated guide to third spaces, free and accessible places designed for rest, reflection, and connection.
The film centers on an artist overwhelmed by the approach of her first solo show, who turns to the app to find new sources of inspiration.
‘Unfold’ - Junming (Jimmy) Pu and Yiran Lin
Our film is about a chair encounters with different people in a furniture show room that takes audience through an emotional journey. What makes the film compelling is the subtle movements and sound effects that give personality to the chair, turning a simple object into an emotional character.
The making process involves large scale stop motion, staging the apartment into showroom, and overlaying editing to achieve crowd effect with 1 actor.
‘The Tooth’ - Jiayi (Jay) Wang and Jisu Kim
This film explores fear embedded in everyday life. It blends cuteness and horror in a playful yet unsettling way.
For the props, Jiayi crafted edible teeth using cake fondant, making the nightmare sequences feel more realistic and visually striking. In the editing, Jisu enhanced the atmosphere through creative transitions, subtle afterimage overlays, and carefully chosen music to intensify the mood.
‘Myopia’ - Maya Swick and Batu Alpas
Myopia is a dark comedic thriller about a man who finds a strange glowing eye that makes decisions for him. We wanted to explore the concept of free will in the age of algorithmic and capitalistic control through escalating absurdism.
Our process was methodical and planned, but shooting guerrilla-style in public spaces meant adapting in real time.
‘The Adventure’ - Tristan Murff and Yennie Min
The Adventure is a story about the relatable feeling of being homesick in New York. Utilizing a shoe mounted directional device and app developed across our Affirming Artifacts and Making Studio classes, we follow a girl as she’s guided through the streets of New York across guided locations.
The filming process for our film spanned two different days, one characterized by completely sunny weather, the next by snow across New York. Filming in the upper streets of the East side we managed to hide most of the snow from our shots.
To our readers who want to feel what this special night is truly like, our very own Michael Chung managed to capture a few stills that really highlight the audience’s anticipation and the rollercoaster of emotions that carried throughout.
