The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) is pleased to announce the inaugural MAH 5 Minute Film Fest. The screening takes place on Thursday January 15, 2026 at the MAH from 6-7:30pm. Admission is $5.
More than 50 qualified films were submitted, and the jurors selected the top 15 for screening, each film under 5 minutes in length. Three awardees will be announced the night of the event with cash prizes. "I'm thrilled to present the inaugural MAH 5 Minute Film Fest at the museum,” says Ginger Shulick Porcella, the MAH’s Executive Director. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for local artists who might not otherwise be able to showcase their work at the museum to present their short films to the community." Submissions ranged from short documentary films, animation, music videos to experimental media.
Selected Films:
Andrew O’Keefe, Honoring our Ancestors
Cynthia Lee Ling, these days, I keep my grief leashed
Dwiti Rao, Whispers & Roars
Bridge Mary Henry, Omens
Stefie Gan, Carbon Traces
Maria Gian & Miranda Salvia, Origins
Bingan Li, I Have Always been Right
Amanda WouldGo, Lemon DoBerge, Watching the Watchers
Lewi Thute, Karina Zhou, Batu Alpas, William Zhou Larsen, Oh, Crab!
Miranda Felton & Kate Freels, Teacher Bling
Parker Bohl, Written Existence
Jack Hubbell, Love & Algorthythms
Jinqi Zhang, The Little Rabbit and the Little Cat
Huy Truong & Susana Ruiz, Chinatowns of the San Lorenzo
ABOUT THE JURORS
Paul Kmiec is an award-winning filmmaker and educator, terminally in love with Central Coast and Northern California. Paul serves as the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Film Festival. He is the resident Acting for Film Instructor at the International Theatre & Dance Project in Greece and serves on the jury of the San Francisco Greek Film Festival. He earned his BFA in Filmmaking from the SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory in New York and his Master's in Film & Television from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Paul has written and directed six short films; each of his films have screened and won awards at festivals nationwide and abroad. Paul is currently producing a feature film in NYC starring Alec Baldwin and Karen Allen. The film is the first-place winning screenplay of the Golden Script Competition (2023) and a two-time semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute Writer’s Lab.
Consuelo Alba is a visionary arts leader harnessing the transformative power of film and culture to ignite social change in Santa Cruz County and beyond. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF), a nonprofit arts organization she has grown from a grassroots collective into a nationally recognized cultural force. Since 2012, WFF has uplifted Latine and Indigenous stories that illuminate our shared humanity, foster belonging and inspire action. Under Consuelo’s leadership, the festival offers year-round programming, supports local filmmakers and redefines what a film festival can be: an inclusive, community-centered space for dialogue, joy and collective imagination.
Ginger Shulick Porcella is a renowned arts leader, curator, fundraiser and author, currently serving as the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). Porcella holds an MA in Socio-cultural Anthropology from Columbia University and a BA in Art History from DePaul University. She has been the Executive Director and Chief Curator at nonprofits and museums across the United States, including: Franconia Sculpture Park (MN); Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (AZ); and, the Institute for Contemporary Art San Diego (CA).
ABOUT THE MAH
The MAH is a thriving community gathering place that serves more than 130,000 people annually through rotating art and history exhibitions, visual and performing artworks, public festivals, education and outreach programs, and cultural celebrations in collaboration with its many partners. It maintains a permanent collection of regionally significant art and artifacts, a research library, a historical archive, and historic sites including the Evergreen Cemetery, Octagon Building, and Davenport Jail. It is also home to Abbott Square, a vibrant public plaza on the museum’s doorstep that offers food, social events, and year-round creative happenings.