The University Center for Human Values awards an annual Short Movie Prize of $1000. Honorable Mentions are made from time to time and these are awarded a prize of $250.
The 2025-2026 competition invites digital video submissions (including films transferred to digital form) on any theme. Open to currently enrolled undergraduate students, one entry is allowed per student. Submissions will be due at the end of the Spring 2026 semester, with the exact deadline TBD.
Submission Requirements
- Films must be between 1-20 minutes in length. Music to which rights have not been secured can be used as long as the film is not shown commercially;
- Undergraduate students should upload their video to a website–YouTube, Vimeo, or some other video-sharing website–and provide the jury with a stable URL.
- Each submission must be accompanied by a short biography (no more than one paragraph) of the student who made the movie (if more than one student, submit a separate biography for each student);
- An optional supporting statement about the short movie (no more than one page, double-spaced).
- Please submit your film at https://uchv.princeton.edu/smp
For more information and questions, please contact Sam Hontz.
Current Winners of the Short Movie Prize
2025
Co-winner: Joe McCauley '26 for "Bunyip Country” [watch]
Co-winner: Yi Jin Toh '25 for “August” [watch]
Honorable Mention: Isabel Irwin '27 for "Ibu Perak” [watch] (email Sam Hontz for password)
Honorable Mention: Allison Lesser '27 for “The Perpetual Motion Machine" [watch]
Past Winners of the Short Movie Prize
2024
Winner: Michelle Tang ’26 for “David's Doodles” [watch] [read]
2023
Winner: Ethan Luk '24 for 團/Gathering [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Lola Constantino '23 for wish u a good life [watch]
Honorable Mention: Azi Jones '25 for Lessons in Exile [watch]
2022
Winner: Collin Riggins '24 for Son of Many [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Ethan Luk '24 for Before You Were Born [watch]
2021
Winner: Noa Wollstein '21 for Wednesday at Elizabeth [watch] [read]
2020
Winner: Ilene E '21 for Home | 家 [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Athena Chu '23 for In a Beautiful Country, Mothers Grow [watch]
2019
Theme: Hope and Despair
Winner: Bes Arnaout '20 for En Route [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Ryan Ozminkowski '19 for Shanghai Sole
2018
Theme: Ambivalence
Co-winner: Melanie Ho '18 for Do Not Swallow [watch] [read]
Co-winner: James Tralie '19 for Immeasurable Nature [watch] [read]
Co-winner: Mariah Wilson '18 for Maximum Capacity [watch] (email Sam Hontz for password)
Honorable Mention: David Lopera '19 for Perfidia [watch]
2017
Theme: Fanaticism
Co-winner: James Tralie '19 for Virtual [watch] [read]
Co-winner: Elias Stern '19 for Whiskey Sour [watch] [read]
2016
Theme: Choosing
Co-winners: Chanyoung Park '17, Roxana Turcanu '16 and Cezar Mocan for Même [watch] [read]
Co-winner: Emma Michalak '17 for But for the Grace [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Ben Goodman '17 and Simon Gulergun's for Untitled [watch]
2015
Theme: Attachment
Winners: Ben Goodman ’17 and Simon Gulergun for Capture Bonding [watch] [read]
2014
Theme: Equality
Winner: Jeanette Beebe '14 for Beyond the Boys' Club [watch] [read]
Honorable Mention: Cameron Johanning '16 for Equality
Honorable Mention: Jane Pritchard '15 for Hats
2013
Theme: Justice
Winner: Michael Glassman '15 and Tom Markham '15 for A Film on Justice [read]