Congratulations to the 2025 Media Arts Educator Award recipient, Clarissa Ngo! Below are her students' films that were accepted into the 21st MY HERO International Film Festival
Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Prize Winners
Forgetting to be Grandpa
By: Imaginate Ink
When 17-year-old Alexander passes the bust of his grandpa, he remembers whom he is supposed to be.
The End of My Pink Cake Life
By: Imaginate Ink
The tale of how Alyssa Wu moved from video-game addicted teen to realizing that treating yourself makes your dreams sit on a shelf.
1st Place Category Winner
(Middle School Documentary)
Nai Nai
By: Emilee Sung
My ancestors come from an illiterate fishing village
Where pirates lay in wait for merchant ships to plunder
Finalist Films
Ode to my Fellow Writers
By: Imaginate Ink
For my fellow writers–-for having the courage to face the blank page every day. We change hearts to change minds.
My Life Plan
By: Aaron Chen
As a 6’1” 13-year-old, I’m drawn to sports
Especially basketball as I try to be a gazelle on the courts
Before Rosa, Claudette Sat
By: Imaginate Ink
Ensnared
By: Isabella Lin
“What would you like to be someday?”
“A pigeon.”
Patrick the Penguin
By: Imaginate Ink
There once was a penguin who didn’t think it was nice
That his once spacious glacier was now a cube of ice
Untamed Rhymes: Poems to Celebrate Sea Creatures
By: Imaginate Ink
A Modern Hero: A Love Story
By: Imaginate Ink
“It was from my grandmother, my Popo, that I learned how to love and that seemingly ordinary things are what are most extraordinary.”
Paradise in a Pencil
By: Emily Song
"Paradise in a Pencil" is a film I made about how drawing helped me heal from hurt.
Music: My Friend, My Hero
By: Imaginate Ink
My hero isn’t a person or a thing. It’s something you can’t touch, but you can feel. Is it okay to say my hero is music?
A Home for Harlem
By: Jubilee Sung, Ed Sung
A Home for Harlem is about 8-year-old Harlem Sung, who lives in a cardboard box with his Mom in Central Park. His dream is to build his Mom a real home. Will Harlem be able to use his creativity to do what seems impossible? Find out in A Home for Harlem.
Official Selection Films
Cowabunga!
By: Rachel Chen
When a young calf named Cowabunga discovers that he is polluting the planet with his methane burps, he falls into despair. Intrepid cow that he is, Cowabunga embarks upon a quest to discover how he can save the planet.
My Heroic Quest
By: Victoria Hsu
“Once upon a time, I was eating Cheetos on the couch
Watching Girl Meets World–to keep me from feeling like a grouch”
So begins my journey from regular kid to a girl who is curious about wisdom.
Honorable Mention Films
The Glass Butterfly
By: Natalie Chien
The Case of the Mysterious Boiling River
By: Lucas Chien
Organizer created on 1/6/2026 11:16:24 AM by Kitty Richardson
Last edited 1/27/2026 10:12:01 PM by Rachel Priebe