Davis Flash Film Challenge

************Update 3/3/2026***************

THAT'S A WRAP!!! The first ever Davis Flash Film Challenge is officially over!

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Immense thank you to all the filmmakers, sponsors, helpers, and film festival attendees. This event blew away our expectations and showed the strength and vitality of the Davis filmmaking community! Our Film Festival at Sudwerk on February 28, 2026 was packed to the gills. At the Festival we were only able to show 10 of the 20 films that were submitted for the Challenge along with a montage that we created that featured clips from all 20 films. The montage and all 20 of the films have been uploaded to YouTube, and links to each are below.

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Thank you everyone! See you at the next Davis Flash Film Challenge which we hope to announce soon...

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Salute to the Filmmakers - The montage featuring clips from all 20 films.

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1. Aether by Lucy Niland – The story of Ally, who seeks an escape from a difficult home life by traveling into a fantasy land that she reaches through the Elemental mural on a Davis street. Features a stunning dream sequence where her mind takes her to happier places and times.

2. Davis Art Talkback by Bart Wise & Yael Teff-Seker – A creative and fun journey into the minds of several pieces of Davis public art that allows us to hear what the art pieces would say – if they could talk back.

3. Eye On Mrak by Atticus Yum – A mysterious quest to find a hidden necklace that reveals itself inside the Eye On Mrak. Includes an exceptional shower sequence that tips its cap to Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary masterpiece Psycho

4. Frog Friends by Martina Baeza – A frog spirit statue comes to life and helps 2 friends save Davis from a terrible mosquito outbreak. Features spectacular special effects in a sequence that shows a swarm of mosquitos flying through their house.

5. Light by Jen Soong - Jen is a writer and another first time filmmaker. Her film Light is a beautiful romance story which initially she had no idea how to move from the written page to the screen. She came to workshops, borrowed filmmaking gear and pulled it together in a great effort from a first-timer. We were particularly impressed with the effort she put into the audio and soundtrack of her film. Many of the filmmakers in this challenge asked how to find free royalty free music for use in their films, Jen didn’t settle for this and went and sought out permission from real bands to use their music, and she got it. Then she also took the step of recording her audio separately from her video and synced these up in post-production which is no easy task. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Audio and Sound Production.

6. Meta-morphosis by Jerri Erskine-Zilbert – A family goes on a spiritual quest to bring the famous dog on a trike statue known as Winged Furry to life. Luckily, this is a fantasy film because the family loads the statue up on a skateboard and steals it to perform their magic ritual at their own home!

7. Misfit by Millie S – The youngest filmmaker in the Challenge, 10 year old Millie created a screen adaptation of her very own graphic novel which grapples with self and a sense of belonging. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Animated Film Production as well as the Audience Appreciaton Award

8. parkrun Mace Ranch by Basil Ashmore – Documentary films are made to educate and enlighten viewers. Basil’s documentary focuses on the international project known as parkrun which exists here in. Basil’s biggest struggle with this Challenge was winnowing things down to 7 minutes as he shot over 3 ½ hours of footage for this film! Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Film Production

9. Pork by Ashley An – An appetizing look at the world of pork complete with sizzling bacon and plenty of charcuterie.

10. Rene’s Dream by Seanchan Owen – Seanchan rolled into the prompt reveal event and quickly established himself as a creative force to be reckoned with. He is an artist through and through. He also happens to be the oldest filmmaker in the Challenge at the ripe young age of 80 years old. His film Rene’s Dream is a philosophical journey through the minds of some of the world’s greatest thinkers and writers, and it is an artistic journey through his mind with a clear and distinct visual style. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design.

11. Saved by the Sub by Isadora Pitesky – The story of Haylie and Alex who learn their lesson while skipping school only to be caught when Alex’s mom tracks their cell phone location.

12. Sophie! by Francis Everwoods – Francis came to the first workshop we held after the reveal of the film prompt. She and her colleague Alex introduced themselves as puppet builders! They are not filmmakers, but they wanted to contribute their skills to the community and offered to make puppets for anyone else’s films. They didn’t ultimately find other partners, but they went ahead and made puppet versions of a whole bunch of the pieces of Davis Public Art including everyone’s favorite giraffe sculpture - Sophie. Recognized for Outstanding Implementation of the Prompt.

13. The Alive Statue by Lucy Marsom – All the filmmakers in this Challenge worked with short timeframes and limited or nonexistent budgets. Special effects in films usually require a lot of time and a lot of money to pull off. But Lucy was able to create her effects quickly and on the cheap. But don’t blink – or you might miss it! Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Special Effects and the Judge’s Choice Award

14. The Lack of Mackinac by Jonah Landry – The story of Joey Mackinac – the world’s greatest screenwriter who has to overcome a bad case of writer’s bloc to get his career back on track. Only one person could be trusted to write the screenplay about the world’s greatest screenwriter, Jonah Landry! Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting and the Audience Appreciation Award

15. The Last Call by Nathaniel Yi – A black and white journey into the world of Film Noir. One of the biggest challenges in filmmaking is linking one shot or sequence to the next. We call on editors to tie things together and give films a meaningful flow. Take special note of the transitions between shots and how characters enter and leave the screen in this film noir showpiece. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Editing.

16. The Red Bench by Isaac Burns – A coming of age story where a young man is taught the meaning of the Compassion Is.. bench by a helpful friend who derails his effort to destroy the bench.

17. Turning Life Upside Down: The Carly Dunning Story by Satya Jackson Dunning – A hilarious mockumentary that follows Carly Dunning on her quest to cartwheel across Davis which is ultimately derailed by a tragic bee sting.

18. West Noir’N by Mike Clements – Mike is the only filmmaker who came to every one of the workshops during the challenge, and from the very first meeting it was clear he was a visionary. He faced challenging weather delays, scheduling conflicts, and the potentially disabling internal quest for perfection that many artists struggle with and for a while it looked like he was not going to be able to make his vision a reality. But he managed to pull it off by staying up for 24 hours straight to shoot and edit his film in a single day last week. The result is a beautifully shot mash up of film noir and American western that takes full advantage of both light and shadow. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography as well as the Audience Appreciation Award.

19. Whose Trike Is This? by Ben Bruening & David Martin – Whose Trike Is This combines the poetry of Robert Frost with the fantastical mind of Walter Mitty in a wonderful story of an artist seeking recognition. The story is especially poignant because of the marvelous acting in the film. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Acting.

20. Yes We Can by Iresha Goonesinghe – A narrated voyage through challenging times when the pursuit of power and greed have overtaken our innate inner goodness. A search for balance.

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Calling all filmmakers in the Davis, CA area. If you made it to this webpage, then you must be interested in making some movie magic!!!

 

Everywhere Science is pleased to announce the first ever Davis Flash Film Challenge! Here is how it works:

 

Filmmakers will be given a short amount of time (one month) to create a short film that will be screened at the Davis Flash Film Challenge Film Festival on February 28, 2026. You can create any type of film that you want, as long as it is PG-13 appropriate. But here is the catch... your submitted film must include a specific filmmaking prompt that will be shared at the film prompt reveal event on January 28, 2026 at the Everywhere Science studio in Davis, CA. The prompt might be a specific line of dialogue. It might be a specific location. It might be a character. It might be a prop. You won't know until the reveal event (so don't start making your film until you know what must be in it!!!)

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All of the films selected as finalists for the Challenge will be shown at our Davis Flash Film Festival at Sudwerk Brewing on the evening of February 28, 2026. There will be a panel of judges who will be awarding prizes, and of course there will also be an audience award so bring your friends to cheer for your film!

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Check out the FAQ below for more info.

Email craig@everywhere-science.org with any questions

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*******Update 3:00PM 1/28/2026*******

The Prompt Reveal is tonight! It is at 7pm at Everywhere Science, 720 Olive Drive, Suite N, in Davis. Make sure you have registered for the Challenge so you receive future updates.

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*******Update 9:00PM 1/28/2026********

The Prompt has been revealed!!! Here it is:

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The City of Davis has a wonderful program of Art In Public Places. There are close to 200 different pieces of art that are scattered around the City, including murals, sculptures, paintings and more. You can learn more about the program and view a map of the city that shows where these art pieces are located by going to the following website: https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/city-manager-s-office/arts-culture/public-art/-fsiteid-1#!/

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Your task is to choose any one piece of art that is a part of this program. You must include that piece of art visually in your film. And you must include the name of that piece of art somewhere in the spoken dialogue of your film.

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Please reach out with any questions. And be sure you have registered for the Challenge by emailing craig@everywhere-science.org so you receive updates. Now get to work on those films!

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*******Update 8:00AM 2/23/2026********

We are now less than one week away from the Film Festival!!! Remember that films must be submitted no later than 7pm on Thursday, February 26 and the Film Submission Form which has been emailed to all who have signed up must accompany the submission. 

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And here are details for the Film Festival:

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Time: Screenings start promptly at 7pm. It is recommended that you arrive earlier than that to get a good seat and to get yourself some food and drinks.

Location: Sudwerk Brewing, 2001 2nd Street, Davis, CA

Cost: Free!!!