NMSA News:
New Mexico School for the Arts students swept the prestigious Film Prize Junior New Mexico competition and festival, which was held April 4-6 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Two NMSA students received top awards, and five NMSA students screened films at the festival.
The 2025 Film Prize Junior Grand Prize for Best Overall Film went to Tulsi Shaw (NMSA Visual Arts, Class of 2027) for their film Wings!!!. Tulsi also won Best Overall High School Fantasy Film.
Tegan Wetzel (NMSA Dance, Class of 2025) won the Best Overall Thriller award for his film Clean Radio.
Now in its fourth year in New Mexico, Film Prize Junior is the student version of the award-winning Louisiana Film Prize, a short film competition with the largest cash prize in the world for an independent short film. The Film Prize Junior program supports middle and high school classrooms to experience the entire process of creating a short film, from story and script development to production and editing. The program organizers believe that the process, which culminates in all completed films featured on the big screen at the festival, is transformative for the kids.
Nearly 200 student films from across New Mexico were submitted to the Film Prize Junior New Mexico competition this year.
“We are incredibly proud of our students and the recognition their films have received,” said Diego Gomez, Creative Writing & Literature instructor at NMSA. “These awards mark a significant achievement and arrive just as we announce the launch of our new Cinema & Digital Media Arts department at NMSA. We’re excited to see what our students will accomplish in the film industry in the years ahead.”
To learn more about Film Prize Junior, visit Filmprizejr.com/newmexico/. Film Prize Junior New Mexico films will also be made available for viewing online on the Film Prize Junior website during their Virtual Film Festival, April 10-17.
About New Mexico School for the Arts and (NMSA – Art Institute:
Founded in 2010 and based in Santa Fe, New Mexico School for the Arts (NMSA) is the state’s only four-year, statewide-enrolling, tuition-free public high school, offering young artists a unique dual-curriculum program. NMSA integrates a college-preparatory academic education with intensive pre-professional arts training. While NMSA’s academic programming is funded by New Mexico public school dollars, its arts training and statewide community engagement programs are overseen and funded by NMSA – Art Institute, a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of individual and institutional donors.
Direct questions on NMSA’s Film Prize Junior New Mexico or Cinema & Media Arts program to:
Cindy Montoya
President, NMSA-Art Institute
cindy.montoya@nmsa-ai.org
505.216.7888 x410
Aries Jo
Director of Operations, NMSA-Art Institute
aries.jo@nmsa-ai.org
505.629.5360
