Redwood filmmakers are headed to one of the Central Valley’s biggest student media events after earning multiple Top 5 nominations at Slick Rock 2026.
Hosted by the Tulare County Office of Education, Slick Rock has grown into Central California’s premier student film competition, featuring middle and high school filmmakers from seven counties across the region. The festival began in 2004 as a program designed to improve student writing through filmmaking and has expanded into a large-scale showcase for student storytelling, technical production and media arts.
This year’s festival will take place May 8 at the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Visalia.
According to TCOE, the competition regularly draws hundreds of submissions from schools throughout Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties. In recent years, the event has featured more than 400 student film submissions and nearly 1,000 participating students.
Redwood students earned nominations across several categories including blockbuster, documentary, public service announcement, music video, news broadcast and sports highlights.
In the Blockbuster category, “Burger Land Burger Time” received a nomination for the work of Brody Terry, Sydney Kakue, Antonio Sanchez and Truett Pettyjohn.
The documentary “Happy Trails Riding Academy” also earned recognition. Eric Ortiz served as editor and filmer alongside Brody Terry, Savannah LaRue, Titus Silapachai and Carmel Hall.
Redwood landed two nominations in the General Public Service Announcement category. “Blue Bridge” was created by Titus Silapachai and Ziggie Utumpa, while “Unmasking Cyberbullying” featured filming and editing by Beau Scholl with performances from Mckenzie Chavez and Evan Silva.
“The Siren Song” was nominated in Music Video. The project was directed by and starred Alina Flores, with filming by Mason Young and Titus Silapachai. Mason Young also created the special effects.
Several Redwood projects were recognized in the News Broadcast category. “Brooklyn Anderson Story” featured filming by Mason Young, editing by Cami Villacreses and on-camera work from Brooklyn Anderson. “Mr. Miller Segment” was produced by Cami Villacreses, while “Nutrition PSA” featured filming and editing by Geovanni Ramirez with Jesus Valencia and Andy Luna-Limon serving as talent.
In Sports Highlights, “Redwood Basketball Senior Night” earned a nomination for filming and editing by Brody Terry alongside athlete Noah Robles.
The recognition reflects the growing strength of Redwood’s student media programs and the increasing quality of student-produced storytelling, editing and technical production work.
Slick Rock 2026 will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 8 at the Fox Theatre. More information can be found here: TCOE SLICK ROCK FESTIVAL
Staff Report
Tags: arts education, Blue Bridge, broadcasting, Burger Land Burger Time, career readiness, central valley, documentary, film festival, filmmaking, Fox Theatre, Happy Trails Riding Academy, journalism, music video, news broadcast, PSA, redwood high school, redwood rangers, rhs, Slick Rock, Slick Rock 2026, sports highlights, student creativity, student film, student filmmakers, student media, tcoe, The Siren Song, tulare county office of education, Unmasking Cyberbullying, video production, visalia, youth arts
